– Oh, lesbian. What you are doing is disgusting! The boyfriend and girlfriend Mathea Monclaire and Kari Hegstad were holding hands on the street, as many couples like to do, when a man started shouting hate speech at them. – Would we have let go if we were in a heterosexual relationship? Our love is the most beautiful thing we have, says Monclaire. But, it has consequences. She has received death threats. She has been spat on. She is harassed on the street weekly. – I feel provoked, powerless, but above all very tired. – It is not unique to me that I have been threatened with life. Unfortunately, it is very common. For her, it is completely normal to be harassed on the street or on social media. She has reported several of the incidents to the police, but now she has given up. – I have called and collected everything that has happened that week, but in the end you don’t bother anymore. Skeives have far less trust in the police than the rest of the population. In a new survey, almost one in three respond that they have low or very low confidence in the police taking care of their queer needs. – I was surprised, I must say, that the proportion was so high, says Bjørn Vandvik, department director in the Norwegian Police Directorate. Over 10,000 responded to the survey. Vandvik says that they are aware that the police have a trust challenge and that they must take the results seriously. – This was quite an interesting discovery. It is something we have to follow up, says Vandvik. Monclaire has confidence in the police, but she’s not surprised that isn’t the case for everyone. – I experience these things despite the fact that I am privileged, as white and cis. Many are met in completely different ways. Not reviewing She is multicultural and queer. She has been harassed several times on the street. – I think what I have experienced has been too little to review. “Lia” has not told the police about the harassment she has been subjected to. – I feel the case must be very big for it to be taken seriously, says “Lia”. She tells about an incident when she was on her way to the grocery store. She was holding her boyfriend’s hand when she was met by a group of boys, who allegedly made nasty comments. – I felt angry, but tried to keep calm, says “Lia”. She believes the incidents she has been exposed to would have been dropped if she had reported it. Axel Holandsjø Følling and Eira Følling have thought the same. Axel and Eira are married. They are both transgender, and have been harassed for showing love. – I will not be cowed into not showing who I am, I refuse that. If I want to walk with the trans flag attached to a walker or a wheelchair, I will do it. On a shopping trip in Fredrikstad, they were called for. – Can you keep your fingers to yourselves? An elderly woman is said to have screamed. The married couple say that they gave each other a kiss and held each other. They must then have been asked to leave the area. – It went on for over an hour. We didn’t bother anyone, says Holandsjø Følling. When the incident happened, they did not trust the police, and the incident was never reported. Got used to being harassed The stories presented in this case are the reality of many queer people in Norway. Probably none of these incidents would have been categorized as hate crimes. Whether the incidents are punishable or not is not always as easy to distinguish. Vandvik in the police nevertheless encourages those who are subjected to harassment to report it. But, for many people, being harassed is so normal that it seems pointless. – If I had to report every time something happened, I wouldn’t have had time for anything else, says Monclaire. Loved couple Mathea Monclaire and Kari Hegstad refuse to hold hands in the street. Photo: Julie Helene Günther / news She no longer has count of the number of times someone has shouted after them or written disparaging comments. It has affected her, but it no longer affects her as much as before. – We have become hardened to this, says Monclaire. It has too many consequences. Many choose not to hire hands, she says. – Many save themselves, because we know something is coming. Statistics from Bufdir show that 14.2 percent are negative about two women kissing in public. – We experience more the more in love we are. That is what is so sad. New understanding According to the police investigation, 40 per cent have been exposed to hate crime. Bjørn Vandvik in the police says that they have been working with hate crime against queers for many years, but that they have now been able to document the extent to a greater extent. – We had an idea that there were large black figures, but now the black figures are clearly documented, says Vandvik. He says that the results of the survey have led to progress with trust work in minority communities. – It also clearly shows where we can introduce measures. He emphasizes that the investigation has given the police a better understanding of where trust lies in minority communities. – We have gained a clearer picture of how low trust is, which means that you get a different understanding of the challenges. Hi Did you think of anything in particular when you read this case? Or do you have any thoughts on what I should write about? Please send me an email.
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One in three queers do not notify the police about incitement – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
