Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination gainst Women considers report of Denmark

24 February 2015

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the sixth periodic report of Denmark on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Presenting the report, Carsten Staur, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said successive Danish Governments had been committed to achieving gender equality between women and men for decades and in 2015 Denmark celebrated the 100 year anniversary of women’s right to vote. Denmark applied a dual track strategy based on the prohibition of gender discrimination and the active promotion of gender equality, equal opportunities and affirmative action. Women had overtaken men in the educational system and as a result women in Denmark had one of the highest participation rates in the labour market in the world. Denmark was the first country to formulate an action plan for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which was an ongoing political priority.

Kirsten Olesen, representing the Government of Greenland, said Greenland’s first Minister of Gender Equality was appointed in 2011, and the Act on Gender Equality was adopted in 2013. Challenges included tackling violence and sexual harassment against girls and women and getting more women into decision-making positions.

Durita Joansdottir, representing the Government of the Faroe Islands, said women and men enjoyed the same rights in all areas of welfare society. However family values were more traditional there and challenges included gender segregation in the labour market and increasing the number of women political representatives.

In the ensuing discussion, Committee Experts congratulated Denmark on successes in several areas including its progressive policies. Questions were asked about women’s political participation, particularly at the municipal level, women in science and higher education and women members of company boards. Experts asked about prostitution in Denmark and protection for asylum seekers and victims of trafficking. Issues concerning reproductive health, education, nationality and the gender pay-gap were raised. Questions were also asked about gender equality in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, particularly in the labour force.

Yoko Hayashi, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, commended Denmark for its efforts and encouraged it to take all necessary measures to address the various recommendations of the Committee, for the benefit of all women and girls in the country.

In closing remarks Mr. Staur said Denmark acknowledged that it was not perfect, and that change took time but it was a fair and egalitarian society, probably one of the most equal countries in the world. Denmark was committed to advancing the very best features of the Scandinavian model.

Ms. Olesen, in concluding remarks, thanked the Committee and assured it that the Greenland authorities were committed to gender equality and would carefully take on board all comments made today.

Ms. Joansdottir, in concluding remarks, acknowledged challenges ahead and said gender equality was a political priority for the Faroe Islands.

The delegation of Denmark included representatives of the Ministry of Employment, Ministry of Children, Gender Equality, Integration and Social Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister of Faroe Islands, Ministry of Trade and Industry of Faroe Islands, Ministry of Family, Gender Equality and Social Affairs of Greenland and the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee next meets in public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 February to consider the fourth periodic report of Kyrgyzstan (CEDAW/C/KGZ/4).

Report

The eighth periodic report of Denmark can be read here: CEDAW/C/DNK/8.

Presentation of the Report

CARSTEN STAUR, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said for decades successive Danish Governments had been committed to achieving gender equality between women and men and in 2015 Denmark celebrated the 100 year anniversary of women’s right to vote. Denmark was one of the first four countries in the world to give women the right to vote and to stand for election, on an equal footing with men. Denmark applied a dual track strategy based on the prohibition of gender discrimination and the active promotion of gender equality, equal opportunities and affirmative action. As a result, Denmark was rated very high in respect of gender equality by the European Gender Institute and by the World Economic Forum.

To help reconcile the demands of work and family life and promote women’s active participation in society, Denmark had established guaranteed day-care for children, good and available care for the elderly and an efficient public transportation system. Women had overtaken men in the educational system and as a result women in Denmark had one of the highest participation rates in the labour market in the world, leading to a high degree of economic independence from their spouse.

However, Denmark fully acknowledged that women still lagged behind men in a range of areas and that it needed to work hard and aim higher in its quest to achieve full equality for all women in society, said Mr. Staur. It was not an easy task but Denmark was committed to that goal. Women were increasingly becoming the breadwinners in the family and today, in one in three families women earned more than their husbands, but challenges included a continued wage gap of four to seven per cent, a gender segregated labour market and a lack of women in power and decision-making functions.

In 2014, 56 per cent of enrolled students at universities and other higher education institutions were women, but girls’ and boys’ choice of education was still highly gender segregated due to traditional expectations. In response the Danish Government had taken a number of actions and temporary special measures to encourage girls into science, technology and mathematical fields; to promote women in academia, particularly women scientists; and to break down gender segregation in the labour market. Through awareness-raising and holistic initiatives Denmark was challenging stereotyped and traditional gender roles contributing to practices of social control, with the result that in 2013 the number of women with a non-Danish ethnic background who felt they were not free to make decisions about their own lives had fallen to 20 per cent, equal to the number of male respondents to the survey.

Cases of violence against women had decreased considerably thanks to various measures, including a focus on neglected forms of violence such as stalking and dating violence among young people. There were new measures to tackle trafficking in persons, everyday sexism and hate speech, and to promote the inclusion of civil society. Very high political priority was given to the issue of access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Another political priority in Danish development cooperation was the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Denmark was the first country to formulate an action plan for its implementation, and adopted its third action plan on it last year.

KIRSTEN OLESEN, representing the Government of Greenland (Naalakkersuisut), summarized achievements and actions in regard to gender equality since 2009 when the Act on Greenland Self-Government came into force. Greenland prioritized women’s rights and worked to comply with the Convention. The first Minister of Gender Equality was appointed in 2011, and in 2013 an Act on Gender Equality was adopted. Although more women (61 per cent) than men had a higher education, a recent survey showed women held 38 per cent of management positions in private and public sectors, so there was much more to be done in that area. Other challenges included tackling violence and sexual harassment against girls and women.

DURITA JOANSDOTTIR, representing the Government of the Faroe Islands, said the Faroe Islands were located halfway between Scotland and Iceland in the north-east Atlantic and had a population of 49,000. The economy was almost entirely dependent on fisheries and aquaculture industries. Fish and fish products constituted 95 per cent of Faroese exports. Women and men enjoyed the same rights in all areas of welfare society, and Faroe Islanders liked to view themselves as a peaceful and egalitarian society where discrimination against women was not an issue. However family values were more traditional than in many cities around the world, and challenges included gender segregation in the labour market and political representation of women, as only 30 per cent of parliamentarians and one out of seven Government Ministers were woman.

Questions from the Experts

In light of the tragic events in Copenhagen and following those in Paris, had the Government considered incorporating international human rights treaties into domestic law, asked an Expert, as such extremist acts attacked fundamental human rights principles of countries, saying that such symbols mattered.

There was a lack of clarity and consistency regarding legal protection from discrimination said an Expert, asking if the Government planned to adopt one law which prohibited discrimination on all grounds. How had the Convention and its Optional Protocol been disseminated, and what training had been given to judges and legal workers? During the briefing by non-governmental organizations to the Committee yesterday, there were none present from Denmark, which was surprising, commented an Expert, although the Committee had received written submissions from organizations.

There were significant numbers of applications for asylum in Demark due to the number of conflicts around the world, particularly from Syria, Somalia and Eritrea. During the asylum procedure, including consideration of returning people to their country of origin, how did the Government assess the risks to girls and women, such as trafficking, forced marriage and female genital mutilation?

An Expert expressed serious concerns about the growing usage of gender-neutral language in Denmark. The danger of gender-neutral language was clear: it obscured and camouflaged the reality of discrimination against women because it portrayed men and women as having equal opportunities. A particular area of concern was domestic violence as gender-neutral language in the Criminal Code had led to a lack of data on the simple question of how many women were killed by their spouses or partners. The report stated that “It is not possible to count the number of women killed by their intimate partner since that information is not stored electronically”. The face of domestic violence was clearly still female and gender-neutral language camouflaged that.

Response from the Delegation

The legal status of the Convention was ‘A source of law in Denmark’. The Convention could be and was invoked by Danish courts and other law-applying authorities. That did not contradict the Supreme Court ruling that an unincorporated convention could not set aside an unequivocal act of parliament. An international convention did not have the same force as the constitution. Parliament was the supreme authority - that was the Danish principle of democracy. Despite the tragic recent events in Copenhagen, Denmark had not changed its position on that point. Discrimination was a topic on the training courses for judges and legal personnel. There were no current plans for an overall assessment of various discrimination laws or to extend the present competencies of various institutions and boards.

There was a new strategy on gender mainstreaming focusing on public service and efforts had been taken to strengthen gender mainstreaming into core business. The Danish National Statistic Institute had a wide range of gender-based statistics as did the Ministries. However the municipalities did not use gender-based statistics so much so more needed to be done.

A delegate commented on the non-attendance of non-governmental organizations: of course the Government could not tell them to attend, but they had attended in previous years. Non-governmental organizations knew the interactive dialogue was taking place today, she assured the Committee, and following today’s session there would be external and internal follow-up procedures, as well as press releases and information published on official websites.

A representative of Greenland confirmed that the Committee’s previous concluding observations had been translated into Danish and published on their website, and informed the Committee about its follow-up procedures to treaty body reviews.

A representative of the Faroe Islands, regarding the legal status of the Convention, said the Office of the Prime Minister had organized training and awareness-raising on all human rights instruments. The 1994 Gender Parity Law was intended to eliminate all forms of gender discrimination; it included prosecution powers to investigate alleged rights violations, including employment issues.

Regarding women asylum seekers, a delegate said he was surprised by the question because Danish law well established that gender-related persecution could be a decisive factor in asylum claims, and women’s particular needs were well addressed within the asylum system. The annual report of the Danish Refugee Board was the most comprehensive source of Danish asylum law and Danish international obligations, and included an entire chapter on gender-related persecution, he noted, even including limited case law on female genital mutilation. Reception centres had special facilities for women and children, and staff were specially trained on how to interview vulnerable people and identify victims of practices such as trafficking.

Questions from the Experts

Denmark had more women in politics than many countries, said an Expert, but what was being done to increase women’s political representation at municipal councils and in Greenland and Faroe Islands? How were women from minority communities, refugees, and women with disabilities encouraged and supported to be politically active?

The Committee recognized that Denmark had made important progress in preventing trafficking in persons and noted that the Government continually strove to combat the phenomenon through various action plans and by ensuring proper support for victims. Denmark was primarily a destination country for men, women and children, and in fact there was a growing problem of vulnerable unaccompanied children for sex and labour trafficking. There was a lack of incentives for victims to participate in legal proceedings against traffickers, making it more difficult to bring perpetrators to justice. How did the Government protect those potential victims, especially illegal migrants?

According to many social workers there were no women who desired prostitution to be their regular job. Prostitution should not be treated as a choice but as an option. Denmark was commendable for considering prostitution as a serious social problem which should be eliminated, and for its holistic approach, such as the ‘Exit Programme’ which gave women in prostitution real alternatives. Denmark recently decided not to criminalize paying for sex as it was not seen as likely to reduce levels of prostitution. However, when Sweden criminalized paying for sex, rates of prostitution at first dropped remarkably, by 70 per cent. The Swedish model was proven to work: did the Danish Government decide to allow prostitution to remain legal if arranged on an individual basis?

Denmark was congratulated on improving the number of women on company boards in the private sector, following the Bill on having more women in both private and public company boards and management positions adopted in December 2012.

There was a lack of equal opportunities for women in the fields of research and higher-education, although the programme ‘Ydun’ aimed to promote a more gender-balanced composition of Danish research environments by giving female applicants precedence over male applicants in situations of equal opportunities between the two.

A delegate congratulated Denmark on the ratification of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention, on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, but asked about legislation relating to psychological damage, which was a requirement under the Convention. The shadow reports indicated variance in the application of legal provisions regarding domestic violence by police authorities, noted an Expert.

Response by the Delegation

The issue of women in politics at the national, regional and municipality levels was addressed by a delegate who said 46 per cent of elected representatives at the national political level were women and almost 40 per cent at the regional level, which was quite good. Not enough women were standing for election at the municipal level, but political parties were increasingly aware of the importance of supporting female candidates.

Gender equality in higher education continued to be a priority for the Government, and Danish higher educational institutions had various obligations in that regard. There had been an increase in female researchers at all levels, most of all PhD students and lecturers. The universities had made strategies to promote higher female participation.

Regarding women from minorities in political life, statistics showed that 64 per cent of female non-western immigrants and descendants were politically active in 2013, compared to 84 per cent of women of Danish ethnicity. To encourage more women from minorities to participate in political life and civil society, various campaigns and initiatives were in place, such as the ‘Mothers Vote’ campaign to encourage women to take part in elections; the ‘Civil Society Strategy’ launched in 2013; and the ‘District Mothers’ project launched in 2011 for difficult-to-reach women from minorities living in vulnerable housing to help them to influence their own lives and living conditions.

Forced marriage had always been a criminal offence in Denmark under general laws, but a specific legal prohibition was adopted in 2008. A survey from 2008 to March 2011 showed 18 cases were known to the police, 12 cases based on requests for charges and six were situations where the police suspected risk of a forced marriage. None of the cases wielded evidence to be able to bring charges before the courts. There was no electronic data available since March 2011, said the delegate. Denmark was one of the first countries to make female genital mutilation illegal. There had been only one conviction, in 2009.

On prostitution, a delegate said the decision not to go forward with the criminalization of the ‘customer’ - the person paying for sexual services, was made by in 2012 by the Government based on data collected that year. Furthermore, a survey of the views of prostitutes on the matter found 11 per cent of those surveyed expected to stop being prostitutes if a ban on purchasing sex was introduced. Prostitution was not a criminal offence in Denmark confirmed a delegate; it was not illegal to provide or pay for sexual services unless the person providing sexual services was under the age of 18 years old.

Providing statistics on rape cases a delegate said in 2011 there were 354 reports of rape and 60 convictions; in 2012 there were 332 reports and 75 convictions; in 2013 there were 339 reports and 87 convictions; and in 2014 there were 388 reports filed and 88 convictions. The data came from the Danish National Police Case Handling System meaning there were certain limitations. A new case-handing system was being developed, and in future statistics and data on, for example, the number of women killed by their partner may be available.

Trafficking in persons was a horrific crime that was high on the Danish agenda, said a delegate, noting that the Government was now on its fourth Anti-Trafficking Action Plan, benefiting from a comprehensive evaluation process of previous action plans. The main focus was identifying and protecting victims. New legislation on the right to family reunification helped victims of trafficking to stay in Denmark; the so-called ‘reflection period’ had been extended to 120 days for all victims; and there was a specific provision on temporary residence for victims who were taking part in an investigation or prosecution case. A victim may participate in legal proceedings but being a victim of trafficking did not per se give a person the right to stay in Denmark afterwards, although they had equal access to apply for asylum or other types of legal stay in Denmark and there were examples of victims of trafficking who had received permission to stay in Denmark if at risk of persecution upon repatriation. A voluntary return programme managed by the International Organization for Migration provided a variety of support for returnees in their home country for a six-month period, he noted.

A representative of the Ministry of Defence spoke about the training provided and codes of conduct for military personnel, including on human rights. Deployed personnel, while in service, were prohibited from sexual relations with prostitutes or local employees. When personnel were on leave the codes of conduct generally discouraged any use of local prostitutes, including in countries where prostitution was illegal.

A representative of Greenland addressed questions about women’s participation in politics, saying there was no legislation and it was up to political parties themselves to put forward women candidates for election.

A representative of Faroe Islands, also answering questions on women’s participation in politics, said there were no plans to implement a quota system for women in local or national politics but the issue was being discussed a lot in the media and political bodies. Some political parties did have policies of lists that had 50/50 numbers of men and women.

Questions by the Experts

Denmark was very concerned by issues of peace in the world, said an Expert, asking how it implemented Security Council Resolution 1325 and promoted the participation of women in peace negotiations.

Denmark was congratulated on its gender neutral nationality laws by an Expert who asked about guarantees for children born to stateless mothers and fathers in Denmark.

Response from the Delegation

Gender-neutral language in legislative text had been a policy for many decades, said a delegate. Every governmental institution and ministry in Denmark had to submit a report every second year on their efforts and follow-up up in the field of gender equality, the results of which made a publicly-available index and a scale so every municipality could assess their performance against others. That generated healthy competition among municipalities not to be at the bottom of the list.

The number of women Members of the European Parliament had decreased, but only due to one woman not being re-elected, as Denmark did not have many seats. Denmark had a long-standing tradition of appointing female Commissioners, a delegate noted.

Regarding women’s equality on private and State-owned company boards, a delegate said in 2014 only two per cent of listed companies had an equally gender-balanced board, but today 17 per cent of listed companies had a gender balanced board, demonstrating positive progress. Almost half of State-owned companies had a gender-balanced board. Some companies had not yet set targets or a policy to achieve a gender-equal board, and the law provided for sanctions – usually a fine – for non-compliance.

Gender had been a cross-cutting concern in development policies for decades, said a delegate, and was part of Denmark’s reporting on security activities under Security Council Resolution 1325. Women were key factors in creating a sound peace process and ensuring reconstruction, development and economic growth. Denmark was only heavily engaged in a limited number of peace processes but had been trying to play a role, for example in Somalia. It had organized a conference in Copenhagen to further the peace process in Somalia last year, which included a side-event specifically on women’s role in the Somali peace process. Similar activities had taken place in peace processes on Mali and Tunisia.

Denmark was party to both the 1954 and 1961 conventions on statelessness, and had an ongoing focus to ensure it lived up to its obligations. Children of stateless women could apply for Danish nationality, said a delegate, under the rules of both of those Conventions as well as under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A political agreement was concluded in May 2013 on the conditions for naturalization and obtaining Danish nationality, which included a chapter for stateless citizens born in Denmark.

Returning to the request for femicide statistics, the Committee was informed of a study of the years 2008 to 2011 which included data on the number of women killed by their partners. During that period 39 women were murdered by their partners or ex-partners. By comparison, eight men were killed by their partners or ex-partners during the same period.

Questions by an Expert

Denmark was congratulated on its day-care system by an Expert, who then turned to education, asking about the low take-up rate of science subjects and popularity of more vocational, caring courses such as nursing, which led to a gender-segregated workforce.

There were no temporary special measures in Greenland where the focus was on raising the general level of education, commented an Expert, saying the Committee would appreciate sex-disaggregated data.

More women worked part-time while men were much more likely to hold a full-time job. Part-time work for women was a good solution in the short term, but created problems in the long-term. Such employment inequality was a crux of discrimination seen in many countries. Despite their high levels of learning and qualifications child-raising and domestic tasks usually fell to women. In the Faroe Islands more than 95 per cent of employed women worked as care-givers, similar to Greenland. What measures were in place to make it easier for women to work full-time?

The problem behind the continued pay gap and employment inequalities in Denmark appeared to be a lack of policies and clear definition of ‘equal pay for equal work of equal value’, said an Expert. There were many cases of discrimination based on pregnancy and childbirth. There was unequal sharing of parental leave and low numbers of fathers who took paternity leave.

Many households employed Au Pairs as domestic child carers said an Expert, asking whether Denmark planned to ratify the International Labour Convention on Domestic Workers. He also asked about plans to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families?

On reproductive health, an Expert noted that the abortion rate had fallen in Denmark especially in girls younger than 19 years, but in Greenland the abortion rate for girls aged 12 to 19 years had not. The Faroe Islands had different requirements for abortion, said an Expert, repeating the concern of the Committee on the Rights of the Child about the high number of undesired teenage pregnancies. On health, an Expert said HIV AIDS was in particular a problem for non-Danish women asking if there were any specialized programmes for them.

Response by the Delegation

On education, a delegate the basic principle of the Danish education system was equal access and equal treatment, and it was clear that girls were actually doing better than boys in the school system. It was expected that 69.4 per cent of girls from the year group that went into the Ninth Grade in 2013 would complete a higher educational programme within the coming 25 years compared to only 55.6 per cent of the boys.
A task-force to get more women into science had just been appointed, and was expected to issue recommendations in April 2015.

Gender segregation in employment was persistent, and started at an early age: it could be difficult to transcend the segregation after education, agreed a delegate. However, a new Ministry of Employment initiative to map the gender segregation would form a basis of new policies. To tackle the pay-gap new regulations on gender-segregated pay statistics were issued on 1 January 2015 which included small companies.

There were no plans to ratify the International Labour Organization Convention on Domestic Workers at present or the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families.

The majority of women worked part-time agreed a delegate, but part-time work could also be a stepping stone into the labour market as well as a way to retain women in the workforce. Part-time work enabled many women to balance professional and personal lives. It was sometimes difficult to move from part-time to full-time work but there were recruitment policies to change the trend and make full-time employment the norm.

Women in Denmark since 1973 had the right to legally-induced abortion before the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy. The number of induced abortions annually had decreased from 16,736 in 2009 to 15,073 in 2013, and today was at 11.9 abortions for every 1,000 pregnancies. For young women aged 15 to 19 years the number of induced abortions had fallen from 2,373 in 2011 to 2,163 in 2013. Women considering an abortion were entitled to services including counselling both before and after the abortion. Abortion provision in the Faroe Islands was different to Denmark and Greenland; it was available in cases of risk to the life of the expectant mother, in cases of incest or rape, or cases of severe disability to the foetus.

A number of initiatives had been taken to strengthen sex education in schools and sexual and reproductive health at local levels. Peer educators of different ethnic origins had been trained to provide reproductive health and family planning support to women in socially disadvantaged and ethnic minority communities, particularly in Copenhagen.

Life expectancy in Denmark showed a positive trend for women, and in 2014 it reached a record high of 82.7 years for women and 78.5 years for men.

Denmark did not have the term ‘rural women’, noted a delegate. From 2008 to 2014 the number of municipalities with less than 90 women for every 100 men had gone up to 59; in Denmark on the whole rural problems were ones for men, not women.

Regarding parental rights, a delegate said 46 per cent of marriages in Denmark ended in divorce, which was quite high. Decisions on custody of and access to children were based on the best interest of the child. The Act on Parental Access emphasized children’s right to their parents, not the right of the parent.

Concluding Remarks

YOKO HAYASHI, Committee Chairperson, commended Denmark for its efforts and encouraged it to take all necessary measures to address the various recommendations of the Committee, for the benefit of all women and girls in the country.

CARSTEN STAUR, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations Office at Geneva, thanked the Committee for their pertinent and relevant questions, and looked forward to receiving its concluding observations. Denmark agreed that data was crucial, not least on gender equality, and would continue to receive the Government’s continued attention. Denmark acknowledged that it was not perfect, and change – particularly of attitudes and stereotypes – took time. Denmark was a fair and egalitarian society, probably one of the most equal countries in the world, and it was committed to advancing the very best features of the Scandinavian model. Civil society and national human rights institutions were strong and active partners in promoting women’s equality, he noted, thanking civil society for their cooperation and for submitting a shadow report.

KIRSTEN OLESEN, representing the Government of Greenland, thanked the Committee and assured it that it was committed to gender equality, and recognized the challenges it faced in implementation of the Convention, and that it would carefully take on board all comments made today.

DURITA JOANSDOTTIR, representing the Government of the Faroe Islands, acknowledged challenges ahead and said gender equality was a political priority. There would be an effective follow-up procedure to today’s dialogue in which the Committee’s concluding observations would be widely circulated and considered.

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