More women reporting abuse in Norway as member of royal family to go on trial for rape | Norway
Staff at Norway’s largest women’s health charity have seen a rise in the number of women reporting harassment and sexual assault by partners ahead of the rape trial of a member of the royal family, and said they hoped the case would help “break taboos”.
Marius Borg Høiby, the 28-year-old son of the Norwegian crown princess, is due to stand trial in February on 32 charges, including four counts of rape, domestic violence against a former partner and the illegal filming of several women without their knowledge or consent.
His lawyer, Petar Sekulic, said Høiby “denies all charges of sexual abuse and most of the charges of violence.” He added that his client “will present a detailed explanation of the events before the court.”
Høiby, whose mother is crown princess Mette-Marit and whose stepfather is crown prince Haakon, the future king of Norway, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
May Britt Buhaug, general secretary of women’s public health organization Sanitetskvinnene, said her staff had noted an increase in the number of women reporting their domestic health experiences. They expected the violence and sexual assault to escalate even more once the trial began.
“Staff at our women’s health centers have seen an increase in the number of women contacting us for help and advice following experiences of violence and sexual assault. Media coverage of cases like Høiby lowers the threshold for seeking help. The fact that women seek help more easily is a positive effect. Openness breaks taboos,” Buhaug said.
According to statistics from the Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Research (NKVTS), one in every 10 women in Norway is subjected to serious violence by an intimate partner.
“Although tragic, it seems this case may contribute to breaking the silence on intimate partner violence and rape,” Buhaug said.
Meanwhile, an explosive new book that Høiby unsuccessfully tried to prevent from being published alleges that he personally sold drugs on the streets of Oslo. Høiby denied the allegations.
Negative headlines appear to have energized Republicans. The king is Harald V, who has reigned since 1991 and is now 88 years old. Due to the law of primogeniture used until 1990, the heir to the throne is not his eldest child, Märtha Louise, but his second child, Haakon.
Craig Aaen-Stockdale, leader of the Norge som republikk (Norway as a republic) group, said his membership had more than tripled in the past two years; He said this was largely due to the accusations against Høiby.
“By contrast, in a democratic, egalitarian and liberal country, the Norwegian royal family is in a bit of a blind spot and has traditionally enjoyed high levels of support. But many Norwegians are now reassessing their position on the royal family, previously seen as a relatively harmless group,” he said.
“The ongoing omniscandal has really damaged the reputation of the young royal family, including the future heir. In a few years we may be in a situation where the head of state has a chronically ill wife. [Mette-Marit recently said she would have to have a lung transplant] and one son is in prison. “This isn’t fair to anyone.”
But Torgeir Pedersen Krokfjord, co-author of the book White Lines, Black Sheep, which published the drug allegations, said the royal family remained popular among most Norwegians and emerged relatively unscathed.
“We can only imagine how they coped with all of this while also struggling with health issues over the years,” he said.
The royal palace and Høiby’s lawyer have been contacted for comment.
