In this way, the martial arts trainer avoided being prosecuted for assaulting the woman he trained, when she was a child. – It is very frustrating. It feels like I’m invisible and what he did to me doesn’t matter. This is what the woman, who is now in her 30s, tells news. A few months on the calendar separate and decide. – Was I 15 years and a few months, or had I turned 16 when it happened? – I can’t remember. But that is what makes the difference whether he can be punished or not, and whether my story counts. The woman in her 30s despairs that the man cannot be prosecuted for what she claims he has done to her. Photo: Benjamin Dyrdal / news – Twice as old The woman was called in for questioning by the police in Bergen in 2022, when they rolled up the assault case against the martial arts coach. In questioning, the police wanted her explanation of a photo, which the coach is said to have taken of her. – In the picture I was undressed in his bed, with lots of cuddly toys around. So I’m around 16 years old, but I can’t say for sure if I was 16. – It happened several times, at his place and at the sports club’s training room. He was twice my age, she adds. She grimaces. – It makes me sick to think about it now, but at the time I didn’t understand it. As a woman in her 30s, she looks at what happened in her teenage years with completely different eyes. Photo: Benjamin Dyrdal / news – Refuse to be a victim Research shows that it takes more than 17 years from the time a child experiences abuse, until the person concerned tells about it. Lack of understanding and cases where the abuser was a person with whom you had a close relationship are among the reasons why it takes a long time to tell. – When I was called in for questioning, I thought poor him. Now I certainly don’t think so, the woman tells news. – Do you think you’re poor? – No, I refuse to let him make me a victim. Limitation period After the questioning, the woman was given the status of being offended by the police. The status was then changed to witness again, because the police considered the relationship outdated. This is because the woman could not say for sure whether she was under 16 when the photo was taken. The same applied to the other incidents she told the police about. This is due to the previous Criminal Code, where abuse cases where the child was 16 years old can become statute-barred. In 2014, the government removed the statute of limitations for sexual abuse of children, but this did not have retroactive effect. Conditions that were already out of date in 2014 were left without the possibility of prosecution. – It feels like I’m invisible, and that what he did to me doesn’t matter. The woman would have preferred not to have to appear in court, and says that it costs a lot of effort. Photo: Benjamin Dyrdal / news Must appear in court This spring, her former coach was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, for sexual assault against three of his former athletes. The coach was sentenced for abusing his position to obtain sexual intercourse, and for sexual intercourse with minors under the legal age for sexual intercourse. The coach pleads not guilty and has appealed the unanimous verdict from the Hordaland district court. The prosecution also appealed, because the prosecutor believes the sentence should have been higher. Now the case goes before the Gulating Court of Appeal in Bergen, where the woman news is talking to must also appear. She is one of three women who, due to the statute of limitations, have the status of witness and not offended. The police have asked all three to appear in the Court of Appeal. The legislation is clear that everyone who is summoned, with few exceptions, has a duty to appear and explain himself to the court. Not entitled to legal aid But it costs money to explain yourself in front of the court, the media and the martial arts coach himself, says the woman. – I am completely alone, without a lawyer. You are not entitled to that as a witness. No one prepares me for what meets me in court, and any unpleasant questions from his defender, she says despairingly. – And nobody tells me anything, she adds, and points out that she became aware of the judgment from the district court through media reports. – How does this affect you? – I slept two or three hours the night after that phone call from the police in 2022. I get flashbacks, but struggle to place the events in time, she says and adds: – I’m actually a happy person who loves to give others good energy , but now I feel indifferent to everything. – I am happy at Christmas time, but this year I have not been able to bear the thought of putting up either lights or decorations at home, says the woman. Photo: Benjamin Dyrdal / news Acknowledged sexual relationship She says that Bergen can be experienced as a small city, which seems extra burdensome. – Rumors are circulating. Everyone in the martial arts community knows it’s me. At the same time, there is a risk of meeting him. It has already happened both on the Bybanen and the store. She looks down at the ground. – Both times I completely froze. Then she straightens her back and looks up. – But one thing is a meager consolation, and that is that he has actually admitted that this happened, says the woman and refers to what the coach said in the district court. In the Hordaland District Court, the coach admitted to having had a sexual relationship with the three women, where the relationship has become obsolete. Prosecutor Eli Andrea Skaar thought that was very convenient. – We shouldn’t have it this way. Attorney Trude Marie Wold has extensive experience as a legal aid lawyer, and sits on the Norwegian Association of Legal Aid Lawyers’ Committee. – As a legal aid lawyer, you are dependent on having an authorization to ask us to be appointed. There is no such authority for witnesses, says Wold. Lawyer and general manager of Advokatfirmaet Wold, Trude Marie Wold, has extensive experience as a solicitor. Photo: Synnøve Hole / news The lawyer says that she has therefore ended up giving free legal aid herself on several occasions. – It is clear that witnesses like this woman are in a worse position than victims who have the support of a legal aid lawyer. We shouldn’t have it this way, says Wold and adds: – It is something I want to bring up for discussion in the Danish Legal Aid Committee. Hi! Do you have any tips for this, or other matters? Please send me an e-mail: [email protected] Published 17.12.2024, at 05.48
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