A conversation between hosts Claudia Arangua Gonzalez (SWEA - Caritas Norway), and guest Thomas Bennestad on the Norwegian criminal justice system, the process when a victim meets the judicial system and the law on violence in closed relationships, such as rape. Thomas is a solicitor at Oslo District Court/Court of Appeal and works for the law firm Salomon Johansen. He is also a board member of Jurk, a legal free aid service for women and the National Association for PTSD in Norway.
You can watch this podcast episode on our YouTube channel: @witnessprojects
A victim of rape, family violence and sexual assault can have up to 3 hours of free legal aid service.
Everything spoken to a lawyer is confidential.
Should one go to the police or not? Many can be anxious, uncomfortable and worried. If you do report to the police then in Thomas’ experience are you safer that way. Especially when it comes to family violence, one often is worried about what will happen.
Preparation before police reporting: write notes somewhere of what happened so you can use it during reporting, make sketches or drawings of the apartment for example, so have some drawings, you can also have also all the witnesses who you spoke to about the incident – friends, doctor, school mates etc. These can be really good evidence.
Write a diary or journal is recommended to remember.
Police reporting process – You can go alone and take an emotional support person to come with you, but that support person can’t be a witness. There will be two cameras and a microphone to record the interview. When the police say don’t lie or else you will be punished, they are just doing their job. With family violence, it is a serious offence. There are two points – relation to the accused abuser and fear of repeated violence as a psychological abuse also considered. After the reporting, you will check over the report/statement. There isn’t much more you need to do. The police lawyer (politiadvokat) will evaluate the case. In most cases, they will be closed and won’t go further in the criminal court. The accused will also have access to the police documents. After you reported, you cannot retract it.
What happens after your case doesn’t go further and the appeal process. Thomas explains what the court will look like and his recommendations to his clients. All trials are open and, in some cases, the doors can be closed to the public. The accused abuser can also be in another room and not in the same room as the victim.
The person who experienced violence – what will they experience in the courtroom? If you do not remember well or don’t know – it’s important to say so
Economic violence and psychological violence in Norwegian law. According to Thomas, the police and court are more focused on physical violence and rape. When it comes to psychological violence, they are great ‘flinke’ but don’t focus on it. A long way to go regarding economic violence. Police don’t have enough resources, unfortunately.
The fear of losing children when one reports to the police. In Norwegian law, children’s wellbeing at home is focal. The older a child is, they will be able to make more decisions. It is very rare that Child Protection Services (Barnevern) will take away the children unless it is very serious.
When one abuses the other by saying that they are Norwegian and they will listen over the foreigner; that the foreigner is worthless. These words as Thomas says are empty words. All are handled equally in the justice system.More info about She Witness - www.witnessprojects.com
For the Norwegian national guide to help services, information and expertise on rape, other sexual abuse and violence in close relationships, go to https://dinutvei.no/en/english/what-is-dinutvei/
