– Some people remember the abuse in fragments. Some have a lot of anxiety, are scared and just want to go home, says Eline Thorleifsson. She has worked as a doctor at the abuse reception at the Emergency Medical Service in Oslo for 16 years. Anyone over the age of 14 who has been subjected to rape, attempted rape and other sexual abuse can seek help here. – Many people feel a sense of shame. They don’t want to be someone who has been sexually assaulted. This can lead to people not seeking help. Eline Thorleiffson shows where the patients are photographed to document bruises, wounds, swellings and scratches after abuse. The purple color means that damage to the skin is clearly visible. Photo: Siv Johanne Seglem / news Someone comes to the reception immediately after the sexual assault. Others come after days, months or years. – We don’t have figures on that, but I probably think that those who have been subjected to assault and rape more often seek help more quickly than others. The doctor nevertheless believes that the dark figure related to assault rape is large. Because most people never tell anyone what happened. At the abuse reception at Legevakten in Oslo, doctors and nurses do trace protection. Photo: Siv Johanne Seglem / news If the patients consent, it is submitted as evidence to the police. Photo: Siv Johanne Seglem / news They also do a number of tests, such as for pregnancy and venereal diseases. Photo: Siv Johanne Seglem / news The police changed their practice And since 2011, the Oslo police have also talked less and less about assault rapes. They believed that media coverage could create a “violent fear” in the population. The police drew up new guidelines for handling the media, which said they should not inform about rapes, according to VG. Except when they believe there is a risk that the perpetrator may rape again, the media have picked up on the case themselves, or the police are looking for witnesses. Last year, 14 assault rapes were reported in Oslo. Some of the cases reached the media because the police needed witnesses. But many never did. – Need good and precise information Harald Bækkelund is a researcher at the National Knowledge Center on Violence and Traumatic Stress. He believes that the population of Oslo needs good and precise information about the dangers that exist out there. – It is not the police’s task to protect women in Oslo from fear of assault and rape. In addition, rape and assault rape are still taboo. And Bækkelund believes the dark figure is large. – Then it is extra problematic that you have a kind of concealment policy linked to assault rapes. Trauma researcher Harald Bækkelund believes the police’s media policy on assault rapes may have the opposite effect of what the police want. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news For some victims, it can also be experienced as burdensome that assault rapes are not mentioned, Bækkelund believes. – Then it can happen that the terrible thing that you have been exposed to cannot be read about anywhere and no one knows about it. Young Oslo women news has met also want to know about assault-rapes: Criticize police report Trauma researcher Harald Bækkelund believes that the fact that the police do not report assault-rapes can lead to more fear. – People can also start to speculate whether the police are hiding something and think that the incidence is greater than it actually is. If we don’t get enough information, it can easily create more scary images and speculation. When the police drew up new guidelines, the report “Rape in the global city 2011: Reviews and media coverage” was used as a basis. Bækkelund believes it is completely unsuitable for saying anything about the connection between media reports and police reports of assault rapes. – It contains many purely methodological errors. It is quite shocking to see the way they have used statistical data. They analyze and draw conclusions in a way they have no basis for. He believes the police should definitely review and renew the guidelines. – There are critical things to say about the report itself, but it is even more critical that the report has been used in that way. The police will not give an interview The police in Oslo will not give an interview. Nor have they answered where or when the reported assault rapes in Oslo in the last two years have taken place. And they do not want to comment on the criticism from Bækkelund related to the report. But they deny that they do not want to inform the media about assault rapes. – However, the police must consider a number of considerations before we publicly inform about individual cases in the very early phase, they write in an email. Early in the investigation, they often do not know what has happened. They then have to weigh the need for information from the public against how much knowledge they have, against privacy and the possible burden on the victim. – This must be assessed concretely in each individual case, they write. In the “record year” 2011, which caused the police to change guidelines, a total of 55 assault rapes were reported. – In 2011, we experienced examples where the sum of information about individual cases that became known in the media led to several victims feeling almost identified and therefore not wanting to report the abuse, writes the Oslo police. – It hurts to read about yourself in the newspaper Back at the abuse reception at the Emergency Department in Oslo. About 600 people, the vast majority women, came to the reception last year. This year they think the number will be around 700. Doctor Eline Thorleifsson says that many of the victims of abuse find it painful to read about themselves in the newspaper. Photo: Siv Johanne Seglem / news Thorleifsson says that several of her patients experience media reports as unpleasant and frightening. – It is difficult. From a patient perspective, I see that it hurts the patients to read about themselves in the newspaper. But for others in society, it may be important to know about it.
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– Extra problematic that there are forties – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
