Country Profile Norway

General Country Information

Summary

There is one national women’s helpline in Norway which is free of charge, available 24/7, and offers multilingual support. Additionally, there are other helplines in Norway supporting survivors of specific forms of violence. Norway does not have any women-only shelters, but there are 41 shelters/crisis centres providing shelter accommodation which are accessible to women survivors of violence, offering an estimated 969 beds. All 41 crisis centres also offer non-residential support, and there are number of specialised services for specific survivors of violence. There are services for survivors of sexualised violence, including 22 sexual violence referral centres, two rape crisis centres, and 21 Centres for Victims of Incest and Sexual Abuse (SMISO/NOK). Norway has a National Action Plan addressing violence against women and girls, which includes specific provisions on primary prevention. The state collects data on women’s specialist services, including primary prevention initiatives, and this information is publicly available. The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) provides annual statistics for both the crisis centres and Centres for Victims of Incest and Sexual Abuse.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is one national women’s helpline in Norway called the VO-line-National Domestic Violence Helpline (Vold-og overgrepslinjen, tel.: 116 006) which is operated by the Secretariat of the Shelter Movement and Indre Østfold Crisis Centre. VO-line is also available via chat on weekdays from 9:00–20:00. The helpline is funded by the state, available 24/7 and offers support in Norwegian and English. It provides support for anyone experiencing domestic violence as well as relatives or friends of survivors and those working with survivors of domestic violence. In 2024, the helpline received 5,137 contacts (872 of callers were women and 126 were men) of which 3,439 were calls and 1,698 were chat requests. The most common forms of violence reported by survivors to the helpline were physical and psychological violence. Norway does meet the Istanbul Convention minimum standards for the provisions of a national women’s helpline. Oslo Crisis Centre also run the Young Relations (Unge Relasjoner) chat for young people aged 16 to 25 who are in unhealthy and destructive relationships. The chat is free of charge, available Tuesdays from 12:00–20:00 and Fridays from 12:00–15:00 and offers support in Norwegian and English.

There are other national helplines in Norway supporting survivors of specific forms of violence. The helpline ROSA: Re-establishment – Places of Residence – Security – Assistance (Reetablering – Oppholdssteder – Sikkehet – Assistanse, tel.: +47 22331160) provides support to survivors of trafficking in Norwegian, English, and Spanish. Furthermore, they offer guidelines and flyers in Polish, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Bulgarian, Romanian, Arabic, English, Spanish, and Norwegian. The helpline is free of charge and operates 24/7. In addition, Red Cross Norway operates a specialised helpline (tel.: +47 81555201) for survivors of forced marriage, female genital mutilation and honour-based violence. This helpline is available on weekdays from 9:00–16:00. The Expert Team for the prevention of forced marriage, female genital mutilation and negative social control (Kompetanseteamet mot negativ sosial kontroll og æresrelatert vold) also operates a helpline (tel.: +47 47809050). The helpline is available on weekdays from 9:00-15:00 and provides expertise in the fields of migration, child welfare, health, security (police), immigration law, as well as labour and welfare services (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration – NAV).¹ All crisis centres in Norway also operate a helpline for all survivors of violence looking for support.

There are 41 shelters accessible to women in Norway, referred to as crisis centres. There is no updated data on the number of available beds, based on the last available figures from 2019, the state estimated there were 969 beds in total. Approximately half of these shelters are part of the Secretariat of the Shelter Movement (Krisesentersekretariatet), the umbrella network of crisis centres for survivors of domestic violence and abuse. All shelters offer 24/7 access, and women are not required to pay for their stay. However, they are expected to provide their own food, clothing, and toiletries. Norwegian law does not specify a maximum duration of stay for survivors of domestic violence in order to ensure their safety; it only states that the length of stay should not exceed what is necessary. In some municipalities, funding is highly limited, which impacts the quality, resources, safety, and staffing of the services provided. The most common services offered by crisis centres in Norway include case management, counselling/psychological support, referrals and collaboration with other services, practical advice, and legal counselling. Although the Crisis Center Act (2010) states that accommodation for women and men should be separate, women’s organisations have noted that, in some cases, women and men are housed in the same facilities but with separate entrances.

Some shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permit and undocumented women, refugee women, women with sensory disabilities, and women with substance abuse issues. Twenty-nine shelters are equipped to support women with physical disabilities, while 10 can support women with psychosocial disabilities and eight women with cognitive disabilities. According to Norwegian authorities, some shelter accommodation is available in five municipalities for adults who are exposed to forced marriage and honour-based violence, with around 30–40 bed spaces. The Secretariat of the Shelter Movement is also responsible for running ROSA, which is a helpline and resource centre that works with survivors of human trafficking and cooperates with crisis centres. GREVIO notes with concern that, partly due to a lack of financial resources, many crisis centres do not provide shelter accommodation to certain groups of women exposed to intersectional discrimination, in particular women with disabilities and women with addiction issues.³
Crisis centres are funded by municipalities, of which 29 are also run by municipalities, and 12 are run by foundations or non-profit organisations under contract with the municipalities. The Crisis Centre Act (2010) is meant to ensure the provision of a good, comprehensive crisis service centre for women, men and children who are subjected to domestic violence or threats of such violence in Norway. The Act related to municipal crisis centres uses gender-neutral language. Requirements for crisis centres regarding services provided stipulate that the centres may be used by any person who is subjected to domestic violence or threats of such violence and are in need of counselling or safe, temporary accommodation. The law obliges municipalities to ensure that crisis centres are available at a reasonable travel distance, however the number of crisis centres in some rural parts remains scarce. The issue of gender-specific services at crisis centres has been a major national debate in recent years. In 2026, a new law on crisis centres is expected to come into force in Norway, which emphasises that services should be gender-segregated. However, the legislation also allows crisis centres to apply for exemptions. This poses a significant risk to women’s safety and their specific needs in the context of these services. If shelters have to decline referrals, it is mainly due to lack of space and capacity to support the survivor. In 2024, crisis centres accommodated a total of 2,340 adults, of which 2,123 were women and 1,704 children.

There are 41 crisis centres in Norway providing a range of services to all survivors of violence against women and domestic violence including counselling and psychological support, legal advice, and referrals and collaborations with other services. The crisis centres are funded and supervised by state municipalities. All of these centres also provide shelter accommodation and thus operate both as a women’s shelter and centre. In 2024, 3,745 daytime clients visited a crisis centre, totalling 13,586 daytime visits.

There are also other centres in Norway that provide specialised support to women survivors of violence. For instance, the Mira Centre in Oslo provides counselling services to migrant as well as Black and minority ethnic women. Furthermore, Therese’s House in Oslo offers emergency accommodation as well as medical and social assistance to women with substance abuse issues, as most crisis centres are not accessible to women with substance abuse issues. In addition, the NGO JURK in Oslo offers free legal aid and advice in criminal and civil proceedings to women survivors of violence. ROSA centre also provides support and information for survivors of trafficking such as legal advice, counselling and healthcare. There is however a lack of specialised support services for Sámi⁴ survivors of violence, and a lack of expertise from professionals on the Sámi language and culture. A number of centres also provide support to survivors of sexualised violence.

There are support services for survivors of sexualised violence in Norway, including Sexual Assault Reception Centres, Rape Clinics, and Centres for Victims of Incest and Sexual Abuse (SMISO, which are also called NOK). There are 22 sexual assault reception centres (Overgrepsmottak) which operate as sexual violence referral centres, as well as two rape clinics (Voldtektsmottaket) operating as rape crisis centres, located in clinics and hospitals around the country. These centres offer immediate medical support and crisis intervention; they can be accessed without referral and are free of charge. Survivors will receive help regardless of whether they wish to report the assault to the police. Forensic and gynaecological examination to secure evidence can be carried out in the centres and any evidence lifted off the survivors will be transmitted to the police if the survivor decides to press charges. Other services provided include counselling, medical examinations, pregnancy and STI testing, forensic examinations, help in contacting the police, help in contacting a lawyer regardless of reporting, and information about follow-up services, crisis shelters and other places to receive specialised support.

There are additionally 21 Centres for Victims of Incest and Sexual Abuse (SMISO/NOK) offering support to survivors of sexualised violence, including psychological counselling. The centres are primarily for adults who have been subjected to incest, sexual abuse or rape, as well as for their relatives. They provide services free of charge, function as a supplement to the public sector support system, and do not require a referral. Services provided by these centres include telephone counselling, one-on-one counselling, participation in self-help groups, and other thematic courses. Centres for Victims of Incest and Sexual Abuse are funded by national and local authorities and are run by inter-municipal agencies or NGOs. The exact services provided varies from centre to centre. There are 13 centres that employ professionals who have specialised expertise with working with children and youth. Furthermore, there are 16 centres that have tailored services to individuals with an immigrant background.⁵ SMISOs are located in most regions of Norway and three out of the 21 are available 24/7.

The DIXI Resource Center against Sexual Assault is another free service for survivors of rape, as well as their relatives, located in Oslo. It provides individual and group counselling sessions for survivors, free legal aid, telephone and online counselling, and help in contacting health and other support services. DIXI is funded by the state and local authorities and also operates a helpline available on weekdays (tel.: +47 22444050). Furthermore, there is a specialised helpline for survivors of sexualised violence in Norway, the helpline for victims of sexual abuse (Hjelpetelefonen for seksuelt misbrukte, tel.: +47 80057000). The helpline is free of charge, available 24/7, and offers multilingual support in Norwegian and English. The helpline is run by the Centre for Victims of Incest and Sexual Abuse in Vestfold under the supervision of the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs.

In Norway, several authorities are involved in data collection on different forms of violence. Norway has a National Action Plan (NAP) addressing violence against women and girls “Freedom from Violence: Action Plan Against Domestic Violence (2021–2024)”, which includes specific provisions on primary prevention. Additionally, various initiatives aim to prevent violence generally and certain forms of violence against women more specifically. There is a dedicated chapter on targeted prevention in the National Action Plan on domestic violence. The National Action Plan provides a number of preventive measures on early detection of domestic violence and education initiatives targeting children. Separate National Action Plans for specific forms of violence against women exist, including honour-based violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation (2021–2024) as well as online sexual abuse (2021–2025).

There is a specific budget allocated to primary prevention activities in Norway, including for awareness-raising campaigns like “How Little Should One Tolerate?” which aims to increase knowledge of domestic violence and enable survivors to seek help.⁶ Norway also offers other primary prevention activities, including empowerment activities for girls and women as well as bystander intervention trainings, training for primary practitioners, school-based primary prevention programmes and information guides for newly arrived migrants and refugees. Furthermore, there is a pilot programme called “TryggEst”, which was tested in 10 municipalities with the aim of preventing and identifying violence against vulnerable individuals such as elderly women and women with cognitive disabilities. A number of initiatives are also carried out in schools and day-care centres, such as the programmes “SNAKKE” (talk) and “Jegvet” (I know) which aim to raise awareness about violence, including sexualised abuse among children, teachers, pre-school educators, and staff in services for children. Specific training courses also exist for professionals likely to come into contact with survivors of violence, including police officers, healthcare professionals, and social workers. However, as has been noted by GREVIO, the training programmes reflect a gender-neutral approach to the topic of domestic violence.⁷

1. The Expert Team can also be contacted with support requests via email at kompetanseteamet@bufdir.no. ↩︎
2. Number of available beds based on state data from 2019. ↩︎
3. GREVIO Baseline Evaluation Report on Norway (2022), p.39, https://rm.coe.int/grevio-inf-2022-30-report-norway-eng-pour-publication/1680a923f8. ↩︎
4. The Sámi are a group of indigenous people who inhabit Sápmi, their preferred name for Lapland, and adjacent areas of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland
   as well as the Kola Peninsula of Russia. ↩︎
5. GREVIO Baseline Evaluation Report on Norway (2022), p.42, https://rm.coe.int/grevio-inf-2022-30-report-norway-eng-pour-publication/1680a923f8. ↩︎
6. GREVIO Baseline Evaluation Report on Norway (2022), p.26, https://rm.coe.int/grevio-inf-2022-30-report-norway-eng-pour-publication/1680a923f8. ↩︎
7. GREVIO Baseline Evaluation Report on Norway (2022), p.28, https://rm.coe.int/grevio-inf-2022-30-report-norway-eng-pour-publication/1680a923f8. ↩︎