Criminal law

Psychological violence
35. GREVIO invites the Norwegian authorities to pursue their current efforts to introduce a specific criminal offence of psychological violence to capture more adequately the criminal conduct covered by Article 33 of the Istanbul Convention and to increase awareness, including through the training of judges, law-enforcement agencies and legal professionals, of the gendered nature and consequences of psychological violence

Stalking

36. While recognising that Norway has introduced a dedicated offence of stalking, which is in full compliance with the Istanbul Convention, GREVIO invites the authorities to review whether general guidelines for legal professionals, such as the Prosecution Instructions, include procedures on how to deal with the complex nature of this offence and to introduce changes as appropriate

Physical violence

37. GREVIO encourages the Norwegian authorities to ensure the effective application of the full range of criminal offences relevant to physical and psychological violence employed by one intimate partner against the other

Sexual violence, including rape

38. GREVIO urges the Norwegian authorities to amend the criminal legislation on sexual violence and rape to ensure that provisions are firmly rooted in the lack of freely given consent as required by Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Istanbul Convention. GREVIO further urges the Norwegian authorities to ensure appropriate sanctions for all sexual acts without the consent of the victim, irrespective of personal characteristics

Forced marriage

39. GREVIO invites the Norwegian authorities to ensure that Section 253 of the Norwegian Criminal Code covers the intentional conduct of luring an adult or a child to the territory of another state with the purpose of forcing this adult or child into a marriage

Female genital mutilation

40. GREVIO strongly encourages the Norwegian authorities to criminalise the intentional conduct of coercing or procuring a woman to undergo any act of excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of a woman’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris, and any act of inciting, coercing or procuring a girl to undergo such acts.
41. Furthermore, GREVIO strongly encourages the Norwegian authorities to pursue efforts to increase awareness of female genital mutilation in society and to ensure an improvement in knowledge and understanding of this form of violence by relevant professionals, including but not limited to, health professionals, prosecutors, judges and lawyers.

Forced abortion and forced sterilisation

42. GREVIO strongly encourages the Norwegian authorities to criminalise the intentional behaviour of:
a. performing an abortion on a woman without her prior and informed consent;
b. performing surgery which has the purpose or effect of terminating a woman’s capacity to naturally reproduce without her prior and informed consent or understanding of the procedure.

Sexual harassment

43. GREVIO encourages the Norwegian authorities to review the Criminal Code in accordance with Article 40 of the Istanbul Convention to include in its offence of sexual harassment acts of a sexual nature that might affect the dignity of the victim

Sanctions and measures

44. GREVIO strongly encourages the Norwegian authorities to take measures to ensure that criminal sanctions in cases of violence against women are effective, proportionate and dissuasive. In determining criminal sanctions, precautions should be taken to avoid victims being revictimised by the imposition of fines on their husbands or partners. The suspension of sentences should be the result of a careful balancing between the need, on the one hand, to promote the social reintegration of first offenders and, on the other, to contain the danger of recidivism, to avoid undue delays in criminal proceedings and to uphold the principle of accountability under criminal law.

Aggravating circumstances

45. GREVIO strongly encourages the Norwegian authorities to ensure that the commission of an act against a former or current spouse or partner as well as the presence of children is considered as an aggravating circumstance by the judiciary, together with all other aggravating circumstances
listed in Article 46 of the Istanbul Convention. This would include ensuring the understanding among the Public Prosecution Service and the judiciary that dismissals or short sentences in domestic violence cases and other forms of violence against women do not serve the principles of ensuring justice for victims, ending impunity for perpetrators or deterrence

Prohibition of mandatory alternative dispute resolution processes or sentencing

46. GREVIO urges the Norwegian authorities to review whether in the current practice of mediation in divorce proceedings separate meetings are granted in cases where intimate partner violence was detected, and to take legislative as well as other measures to end the practice of mandatory mediation in divorce proceedings involving a victim of intimate partner violence. GREVIO further urges the Norwegian authorities to incorporate a risk-assessment procedure and other safeguards to ensure that any voluntary conciliation procedures are entered into on the basis of prior and informed consen