By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – In a major step forward for the European Union, an advocate general of the European court of justice said that residency rights should be accorded to all same-sex couples regardless of whether the member country legally recognizes same-sex marriages.

In an opinion published on January 11^th, Melchior Wathelet, a European court of justice advocate general in Luxembourg, issued an opinion stating that gay spouses had residency rights even in member countries where gay marriage is not authorized.

“Although member states are free to authorize marriage between persons of the same sex or not, they may not impede the freedom of residence of an EU citizen by refusing to grant his or her spouse of the same sex, a national of a non-EU country, a right of permanent residence in their territory,” Wathelet said.

The European court of justice is the highest court in Europe. The court of justice still needs to rule on the case. Opinions given by advocate generals are non-binding, but they are usually followed by the court in full.

The opinion arose out of a case in Romania surrounding Arian Coman, a Romanian national, and his husband, Claibourn Robert Hamilton. The couple married in Brussels in 2010. A few years later they wanted to move to Romania from their residence in New York, but Hamilton was denied the right to residence there because he could not be classified as the spouse of Coman in the country. Romania does not recognize same-sex marriages.

In his opinion, Wathelet stated that the European Union was neutral on the gender of a spouse. Current law permits non-European Union spouses to move to the member nation of his or her spouse.

Coman and Hamilton are thrilled with the verdict. “Romanian citizens can’t be divided into good and gay. We can’t be treated as inferior citizens, lacking equal rights, based on prejudices that some have about homosexuality,” Coman said in a written statement.

Currently, 22 of the 28 member nations of the European Union either legally recognize same-sex marriages or have some protections in place.

“In view of the general evolution of the societies of the member states of the EU in the last decade in the area of authorization of same-sex marriage” recognition of marriage as “a union between two persons of the opposite sex” is no longer an appropriate categorization.

Legislation which would legally recognize same-sex marriages remains to be enacted in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – EU top Court Told Same-Sex Spouses Have Residence Rights – 11 January 2018

The Guardian – Gay Spouses Have Rights in all EU Countries, Says European Court Official – 11 January 2018

The New York Times – Same-Sex Spouses Should Have E.U. Residency Rights, Court is Told – 11 January 2018

Reuters – EU Court Adviser Backs EU-Wide Recognition of Same-Sex Spouses – 11 January 2018

U.S. News and World Report – Gay Couples Merit EU Residency Rights, Court Adviser Says – 11 January 2018

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Iceland has enacted a new law that requires all companies and government agencies to pay men and women equally.

The legislation was announced by Iceland’s parliament, which is approximately 50 percent female, on International Women’s Day.

The new law, known as the Equal Pay Standard, requires that all companies with more than 25 employees obtain an official certification showing they provide equal pay for work of equal value. The law is not voluntary, as opposed to many existing equal pay laws currently in existence throughout the world.

In order to remain compliant, companies must analyze their salary structures every three years. The analysis must then be provided to the government for recertification. Companies not in compliance will face penalties including fines.

Iceland has been at the forefront of the push for wage equality. However, despite strides that have been made in recent years, gender pay gap problems have not been eliminated.

Demonstrations occurred in October 2016 to protest the wage gap. In one instance, thousands of women coordinated a walk-out from their jobs at a coordinated time of 2:38 pm. Women’s rights groups calculated this to be the time when women stopped being paid for equal work and began working for free.

Ms. Valdimarsdottir, one of the organizers of the walk-out, said “We have come a long way and we are in the forefront of gender equality in the world. But we are so far from having equality in Iceland.”

Iceland has maintained the best overall score on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for the past nine years. This report measures wage differences between men and women in areas such as health, economics, politics and education in 144 countries. Iceland ranks 5^th in the report for wage equality.

The law is largely supported by the general population in Iceland, with just 21 percent in opposition.

While critics say that the cost of audits will be expensive, many proponents believe that the law will be of greater benefit to society as a whole.  “This is a cost that… we decided that… would be of benefit to society and that was of more benefit than… saving companies money” said Brynhildur Heidar- OG Omarsdottir, managing director of the Icelandic Women’s Rights Association.

Iceland has vowed to eradicate the gender pay gap entirely by 2022.

For more information, please see:

CBS News – Women of Iceland are now Required to Earn Equal pay to men – 3 January 2018

The New York Times – Iceland Makes Companies Prove That They are not Paying Women Less – 3 January 2018

NPR – New Law in Iceland Aims at Reducing Country’s Gender pay gap – 5 January 2018

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Over 1,000 adults and teens are facing charges for distribution of child pornography in Denmark.

Authorities in Denmark have charged approximately 1,000 Danes with distribution of child pornography after a video depicting sex between two fifteen-year olds was shared online.

The Danish national police’s cyber crimes unit reported that all but eight of the individuals charged are under the age of 25. Several fourteen-year olds who distributed the video are being spared charges.

The video clips in question, one fifty seconds long and one nine seconds long, were distributed through the Facebook Messenger App. The videos were recorded in March of 2015 and depict two teenagers engaging in sexual acts.

The videos reportedly depict a girl being penetrated with foreign objects. The girl stated she consented to the sex but not to the video being recorded or distributed. In a 2016 interview, she stated, “I tried to forget that evening. I knew that it was filmed, but I didn’t realize they would think of passing the videos on to others.” She later stated that the video was used in order to blackmail her in to sending nude photos of herself to the individual who recorded it.

After the clip was posted to the live feed, Facebook contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States, who in turn contacted Dutch authorities.

Consensual sex between fifteen-year olds in Denmark is legal. However, the distribution of videos of teens engaged in sex violates Denmark’s child pornography laws. The minimum age for legal distribution of pornography is 18.

If convicted, those found guilty could face up to 20 days in prison. The conviction would remain on their records for ten years, during which time they could not become law enforcement officers or take certain positions working with children.

Mira Bech, a nineteen-year old who stated she saw the video and stored it, claimed “This will ruin my life. The world’s most ridiculous case. I couldn’t tell that the people in the video were under 18.”

The topic of explicit images being shared over social media without consent is not a new topic in Denmark. Emma Holten, who campaigns against bullying, said, “Four years ago, I would have felt sorry for them,” she said. “Back then you could have argued that they were not aware of that it was illegal, but today they know.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Danish Police Charge 1,000 Young People With ‘Distribution of Child Porn’ – 16 January 2018

Newsweek – Child Porn Video Gets More Than 1,000 People Charged in Denmark for Sharing it – 16 January 2018

The New York Times – 1,000 Danes Accused of Child Pornography for Sharing Video of Teens – 16 January 2018

The Washington Post – Hundreds of Teens in Denmark Suspected of Sending Child Porn – 16 January 2018

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – More than 150 instances of rape and assault have been uncovered by police in a remote region in Norway.

An investigation was conducted by police beginning in June 2016, after a Norwegian newspaper published accounts from 11 men and women who said they were assaulted. The police report documents 151 assaults spanning the period of 1953 to 2017.

Approximately 90% of the suspects and victims are part of the indigenous Sami community, who originally inhabited northern Scandinavia. The Sami community now lives in parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The community has an estimated population of 40,000 to 60,000.

The crimes span several generations, with some of the assaults dating back to 1953. The most recent crime occurred this past August. All of the crimes took place in a rural municipality called Tysfjord, which has a population of only 2,000.

Forty-three of the assaults were rapes, including of three children. Sexual intercourse with children under fourteen years of age is alleged to have occurred in 40 of the cases. The youngest victim is four years old.

Ninety-two suspects have been identified. They range in age from ten to eighty.

The Sami Parliamentary Council is an elected body representing the Sami people’s interests in Norway. Its president, Vibeke Larsen, called the scandal “a national tragedy” and urged Norwegian authorities to assist.

Larsen cited mistrust of the police as one of the reasons for the crimes going unreported. The Sami “don’t trust the police as much as the Norwegians do,” Larsen said. The Sami people have been told to become “good Norwegians and leave their own culture, language and symbols behind. That’s why they have distrust in the system.”

Head of Nordland County, Tone Vangen, acknowledged that the police “didn’t do a good job”, but also noted that the mechanisms within the Sami environment make it more difficult for police to investigate such crimes.

Anne Lindboe, ombudsman for the children involved, said “there has been a huge failure in the whole safety net that should have been around the children who have been subjected to abuse in Tysfjord.”

The police have acknowledged the mistakes made and stated that one of the aims of the investigation is to instill greater trust of Norwegian police in the Sami community.

Two people have been charged in ten cases so far, but many have been dropped due to the statute of limitations expiring.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Norway Police Uncover 150 Cases of Rape and Assault in Remote Region – 29 November 2017

Time – Rape and Child Sex Abuse in Remote Area Have Gone Largely Unreported and Uninvestigated, Police Say – 29 November 2017

USA Today – Norway Reeling After Multiple Rapes, Sex Assaults Uncovered Near Lapland – 29 November 2017

The Independent – Norwegian Police Uncover More Than 150 Rapes , Including of Children in Remote Region – 30 November 2017