The matter in summary Halden municipality has chosen not to extend the contract with Blue Cross for the operation of the crisis centre, and the operation will be put out to tender. This could lead to the center being moved to the neighboring municipality of Sarpsborg. In Sør-Helgeland in Nordland, users must drive for five hours from New Year’s to reach the nearest shelter. A research report from NKTVS highlights distance from the local environment as a negative factor for children and young people in shelters. The municipalities are responsible for financing the operation of shelters, and there is a risk that they will buy cheap services in the neighboring municipality even if they already have a well-functioning shelter. The number of crisis centers in Norway has fallen from 51 in 2010 to 43 in 2023. The Crisis Centers Act is now being reviewed in the Storting, and several consultation bodies have demanded measures regarding finances and framework conditions. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Crisis center operations and victims of violence are simply not prioritized in Norway. That’s what Marie Lindèn, manager of the crisis centers run by Blue Cross in Halden and Fredrikstad, says. Halden municipality has chosen not to extend the contract, and the operation will be put out to tender. This could end up in the neighboring municipality of Sarpsborg. Lindèn says that Blue Cross Fredrikstad has had a crisis center in the city since 1979. Photo: Julie Solvin Borgmo Lindèn believes that this will lead to fewer people going to the crisis center in an emergency. – How important is it that you have a close offer? – It is vitally important, because you need help there and then. For a person fleeing for his life, it will be difficult to find a bus timetable on his phone. Maybe you don’t even have any money, says Lindèn. Handkerchiefs were to be found in the consultation room inside the crisis center in Fredrikstad. There was a varied selection of books in the waiting room. – We have tried to decorate a little for Christmas here, says Lunden. Over a five-hour journey But Halden is not the only municipality that has to save. Bente Hongbarstad, head of department at Sør-Helgeland Crisis Centre. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen If you have been subjected to violence in Brønnøysund and need a crisis centre, you must drive for five hours from New Year’s onwards. This is confirmed by Bente Hongbarstad, subject manager at Sør-Helgeland Crisis Center in Nordland county. – We are an offer for five municipalities around right now, but we will close on 1 January 2025. The result is that users have to drive all the way to Verdalen, says Hongbarstad. Social anthropologist and business manager, Marie Lindèn, wants the crisis center offer to be the same throughout Norway, regardless of where you live: – This is not the case today, she says. Photo: Julie Solvin Borgmo In the past, news has also written about the crisis center in Karasjok in Finnmark which was closed down, which resulted in over 200 km of travel for crisis aid. – Buying cheap shelter services On Tuesday, NKTVS published the research report “Shelters as an arena for support, follow-up and awareness”, where they highlight, among other things, distance from the local environment as a negative factor for children and young people in shelters. Solveig Helena Bergman, sociologist and researcher. Photo: National knowledge center on violence and traumatic stress – If there is insufficient knowledge and about violent relationships among decision-makers in the municipality, then finances can be decisive for where the crisis center places are located, says one of the researchers behind the report, Solveig Helena Bergman. Until the Crisis Center Act came into force in 2010, the crisis center provision was partially state-funded. Today, however, it is the municipalities that are responsible for financing the operation, and must distribute money based on their own municipal budget. – There is a risk of a municipality buying cheap shelter workers in the neighboring municipality, even if they already have a well-functioning shelter. There are several examples of this, says Bergman, and adds: – It is something we want to warn about. The safety of the users is highly valued at the centre. Photo: Julie Solvin Borgmo When the shelter law was passed in 2010, there were 51 shelters in Norway. In 2023, there were 43. Bergman also states that the Crisis Center Act is now being revised in the Storting. – The consultation round has ended, and now it is up to the ministry to assess how the legislation should be changed. – The ministry has not included the funding framework in the consultation letter. But despite that, there are several consultation bodies that have also demanded measures in terms of finances and framework conditions. So we can hope that this will also be put on the agenda, says Berman. An employee wore a Christmas jumper and reindeer slippers to spread some joy at the centre: – This is nothing, I actually tend to wear it longer. I’m happy for Christmas, she says smiling. Photo: Julie Solvin Borgmo Sufficient offer The municipal director in Halden, Roar Vevelstad, tells news that finances are among the factors that make Halden not extend the contract with Blue Cross. Roar Vevelstad, municipal director in Halden municipality. Photo: Halden Municipality / STEiN JOHNSEN – What do you think about the travel route to leisure activities and school for the children in these families, if the crisis center is moved outside the municipality? – I think that when it comes to shelters, it is not a permanent stay over time. – But more people live there for several months? – What is important to us is that it is a good offer. We don’t know where the center will go. It will be put out to tender, and it is not a given that it will be Sarpsborg. We will set criteria and requirements that ensure a good offer. – So you think that the quality of the offer is not weakened by possibly moving it outside the municipal boundaries? – I have no reason to believe that a quality in services is weakened because it is produced outside the municipal boundaries in Halden, when we set requirements for the services. Facts about crisis centers in Norway Crisis centers are a 24-hour service for people who are exposed to violence, or abuse from their partner, family or others with whom they have a close relationship. You can go to the crisis center you want in Norway, regardless of nationality, residence permit or municipal affiliation. There are 43 shelters in Norway (2023). Many shelters have a secret address out of consideration for the person or persons who are exposed to violence or abuse. The centers have particular expertise in providing protection, security, advice and guidance to women, men and children who stay with them during a transitional period. Some of the shelters have more than 50 years of experience in the field. 2,193 adults lived in shelters in 2023 in Norway. Mental violence, physical violence and threats were the most common reasons why the adult residents stayed in a crisis center in 2023. Almost all the residents had been exposed to repeated abuse. A shelter stay lasted an average of 26 days. 39 per cent of the residents brought children under the age of 18 with them the first time they stayed overnight at a crisis center in 2023. In 2010, the Crisis Center Act was passed, which states that all municipalities have a duty to provide a crisis center service for women, men and children exposed to violence in close proximity relationships. Sources: Bufdir.no and snl.no Will submit a bid Sarpsborg municipality currently has 12 places in its crisis centre, and serves a population of 59,906 people in Sarpsborg, in addition to the municipalities of Rakkestad, Aremark and Skiptvet. Halden has a population of 31,387, and has 10 places in its current crisis centre. Lene Guthu Ryen, assistant director of health and behavior in Sarpsborg municipality, confirms that Sarpsborg will submit a bid to sell places to Halden municipality, and that this has been included in the budget proposal for 2025. – Will this lead to it being filled more quickly the crisis center in Sarpsborg? – It can be. But there is good cooperation between the shelters in the neighboring municipalities. If it gets full, we can use free capacity in other municipalities in Østfold, replies Ryen. – It is not difficult for me to get on a bus to Sarpsborg, but I am not exposed to violence in close relationships. I am not afraid for my life, says Lindèn. Photo: Julie Solvin Borgmo Big long-term effect Marie Lindèn highlights how violence in close relationships is a greater expense for society than the shelters are. – Yes, shelter services cost a lot of money. It operates around the clock, and it is expensive. But violence in close relationships costs society much more. It costs loss of income. It costs people impaired health. Marie Linden shows the news journalist a book that was written on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Fredrikstad emergency centre. – Do you think any of the women from the crisis center would not have sought help if it had been a longer journey? – I am quite sure that several people would not have done that. And we also have contact with other shelters in the country, and know that the further away you live, the less you use that offer, she says. Playgrounds are common at shelters around the country. Marie Lunden says that the playground is used extensively when the weather permits. – Crisis centers represent security at a vulnerable time in their lives, says Lindèn, and adds: – Because living with violence is difficult, but moving away from violence is even more difficult. You can get help here The police: 112/02800 Support center for victims of crime: 800 40 008 The violence and abuse hotline: 116 006 Dinutvei.no: National guide to violence and abuse Crisis center where you live: Find your crisis center Exposing others to violence is illegal. You do not need to be in an acute crisis to get help at a crisis center or call the violence and abuse hotline. You are not alone. There is an assistive device that is there for you. Published 11.12.2024, at 10.08 Updated 11.12.2024, at 10.49
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