The #MeToo movement sparked many debates and increased the demand for more problematized perspectives on the issue of sexual harassment and sexual and gender-based violence as explored in The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of the #MeToo Movement (2021, Routledge). The handbook brought together voices from around the globe, providing a rich and multifaceted overview of region-specific as well as general responses to the #MeToo movement. A new collection, Re-Imagining Sexual Harassment. Perspectives from the Nordic Region (2023, Bristol University Press), offers new understandings of sexual harassment by bringing researchers, writers, and policymakers in the Nordic region into dialogue in an ambitious volume. It asks what role juridical frameworks can and should play in prevention and raises questions about how the image of Nordic states – as gender equal, colour blind and with strong welfare systems – affects the work against sexual harassment in the region.

To engage with the topics of the two collections a seminar titled Gender-Based Violence, Justice, and Knowledge Production in the Nordic Region will take place on 25 April at the National Museum of Iceland. Speakers include authors and editors from both volumes. The seminar is organised by RIKK – Institute for Gender, Equality and Difference at the University of Iceland, the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research and NIKK – Nordic Information on Gender. A recording of the event is available below.

PROGRAMME

Date: April 25, 2023

Time: 13.30–16.30

Place: National Museum of Iceland, Suðurgata 41, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland

Opening Remarks

13.30–13.40

Hólmfríður Garðarsdóttir, Professor at the Faculty of Languages and Literature at the University of Iceland and chairman of RIKK’s Steering Committe

Elin Engström, Head of Operations at NIKK – Nordic Information on Gender

Re-Imagining Sexual Harassment

13.40–13.55

Re-Imagining Sexual Harassment. Perspectives from the Nordic Region, opens for new understandings of sexual harassment by bringing researchers, writers, and policymakers in the Nordic region into dialogue.

Maja Lundqvist, Analyst at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research and co-editor of the book, gives a brief introduction to the book.

Restorative Justice, Carceral Feminism and Sexual Violence

13.55–14.30

How can feminist thinking address alternative ways of perceiving and doing justice in relation to sexual violence and harassment? How can we understand and respond to the cry for longer prison sentences? Can restorative justice be a favourable alternative for victim-survivors of sexual violence and harassment?

Several chapters in Re-Imagining Sexual Harassment discuss justice from different perspectives and two authors will present their work.

“Beyond Restorative Justice. Survivors’ Calls for Innovative Practices in Iceland”, Hildur Fjóla Antonsdóttir, PhD in sociology of law and post-doc at the University of Iceland.

“I Have Always Thought a Lot about the Nature of Violence. Carceral Feminism and Sexual Violence in the Neoliberal State”, Silas Aliki, lawyer and writer.

Authors Dialogue

14.30–15.10

Hildur Fjóla Antonsdóttir and Silas Aliki, facilitated by Maja Lundqvist. Including questions and comments from the audience

Coffee

15.10–15.30

Editors Discussion – Knowledge Production in the Field of Gender-Based Violence

15.30–16.20

A short introduction to The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of the #MeToo Movement by editor Giti Chandra, research specialist at the University of Iceland, followed by a discussion between Giti Chandra and Maja Lundqvist. The dialogue will focus knowledge building, intersectionality, and the meaning of context in regard to sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Including questions and comments from the audience

Closing Remarks

16.20–16.30

Hólmfríður Garðarsdóttir