Few spokespersons for victims' of crime
– A major weakness in the crime victims' situation in Norway is that they have no strong spokespersons. There has been no central authority that can take care of the victim, nor has there been any collective organization for victims themselves. Victims of crime are often vulnerable, says Erik Nadheim.
This year Nadheim defended the thesis Victims of crime and the rule of law. About text that speaks and what it says that is not written at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law. The thesis is an analysis of documents with relevance for crime victims from governments and the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) since 1990. The purpose of the thesis was to show how crime victims are mentioned, given legal rights, and emphasized in political documents over the past 30 years.
The view of the victims has changed
– I wanted to show how the view of the victims has changed in these 30 years, says Nadheim.
The 1990s was a pioneering period in which victims' rights were recognized in new ways, and the 2000s was the decade of major reforms. The legal aid and victim compensation schemes were expanded, and the right to information was taken into account to a much greater extent than previously. The 2010s up to the present day are the decade of great paradoxes.
– Never has so much research been done on the victims' needs and situations. At the same time, victims' rights have been severely tightened, and the right to legal assistance and compensation for victims of violence has been restricted. Both changes are justified in the name of financial savings, and this has had broad political agreement, says Nadheim.
Absence of human rights obligations
In addition to the lack of spokespersons for crime victims – both from the victims and the politicians – Nadheim outlines another reason for the weakened position of crime victims. There has never been a public discussion in Norway about why the authorities should help and support crime victims over and above general health and welfare policy thinking. Pity for the victims has been the main justification. Victims’ human rights have been clearly established in other countries, for example in Sweden.
– In the work on this thesis, I have not found examples where any Norwegian government or The Parliament has established that society's efforts for crime victims follow from human rights obligations, says Nadheim.
Idle rhetorics
An example of this is the more than 200 victims after the terrorist shooting in the centre of Oslo on 25 June 2022, during the Pride week.
– More than 200 people were given the status as victims by the police, but a great many of these were refused legal aid by the courts. This is as a result of the tightening that was done, and it is an indication that there are few in Norway who are interested in the victims' situation, says Nadheim.
In a situation with tighter public budgets, it has been easy for broad political majorities to curtail the victims' rights, despite political program formulations that say that the government wants to do the opposite. The promises have turned out to be empty rhetoric, and not realities.
Fact box:
Erik Nadheim defended his doctoral dissertation Victims of crime and the rule of law. About text that speaks and what it says that is not written at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, The Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, on 28 February 2023. The dissertation is an analysis of documents with relevance to crime victims from governments and the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) since 1990. The purpose was to show how crime victims are referred to and emphasized in political documents over the past 30 years. Nadheim was employed by The Ministry of Justice and wrote the thesis with support from The Research Council of Norway.