“When it comes to violence against women, we are far behind”
Denmark is often seen as a progressive country, but its numbers on gender-based violence tell a different story. In comparison to opther EU-countries, it ranks fourth in the frequency of gender-based violence. What does that mean for women in Denmark? A visit at Denmark's biggest women's shelter in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen. “Some women say things like: ‘I will never be safe until he is dead. Otherwise, he will find me and kill me.’ That is the level of fear they live with,” says Katrine Nordbjærg.
Nordbjærg is head of Kvindehjemmet. It is Denmark’s biggest and oldest women’s shelter, housing 36 women – and their children - who have been victims of violence or threats from people close to them, most often their male partner.
“You are moving into a communal living arrangement at the most chaotic moment of your life. On the one hand, that makes it harder to find peace. On the other, it means you become part of a community,” Nordbjærg adds.
Lack of prevention
The 36 women living at Kvindehjemmet are far from alone with their experiences. According to the EU Gender-Based Violence Report from 2024 nearly 50% of Danish women have experienced physical, sexual violence, or threats in their lifetime, placing Denmark fourth in the EU for gender-based violence.
Despite the disheartening numbers, there has been progress in combating gender-based violence. In 2009, the ‘wife discount’ - a reduced sentence for male perpetrators if the victim was their wife – was abolished. More recently, a new criminal justice reform increased penalties for domestic violence by 50%. Still, the numbers of women affected by gender-based violence continue to rise.
“Denmark prides itself on equality, but when it comes to violence against women, we are far behind”, says Ditte Bjerregaard, director of the Danish Center of Violence Prevention.
She sees a structural problem behind these figures: “We have historically underestimated the scale of gender-based violence, framing it as isolated cases rather than a structural problem. Another factor is that our welfare system, while strong in many areas, does not yet provide systematic, early protection for women exposed to violence.”
The lack of prevention is particularly evident in cases of femicide. According to Femicide Watch, an initiative of the CFV, there have been at least 18 cases this year. This figure is well above the annual average of 13.
Dangerous narratives
Anti-feminist narratives seem to be spreading, particularly in the digital world. According to the European Union, radical movements use this space to share their ideas about the subordination of women and the approval of gender-based violence. These narratives not only reach potential perpetrators and convince them that women deserve this violence, but also often reach women themselves:
“Some women blame themselves and think: 'I never imagined I would be the kind of person who stayed in such a relationship,'” Katrine Nordbjærg says. “But at the shelter they discover that violence against women has no social class and no ethnicity. We house women from across society. Their stories differ, but they recognize each other’s experiences.”
Ditte Bjerregaard highlights the insufficient support systems for women in danger: “When women reach out for help, the system often responds too late, or not at all. Risk factors are identified too late, and warning signs are repeatedly overlooked.”
What is being done about it?
Norway, Denmark’s neighboring country, implemented the use of reverse ankle monitors for perpetrators in 2013. Since then, they have been successfully used in more than a hundred cases.
In July 2025, a similar pilot scheme with 15 ankle monitors has begun in three Danish police districts, including Copenhagen. However, by mid-September only one monitor has been put to use in North Zealand. When asked why it has not yet been used in the capital, Copenhagen police referred to the National Police. But the responsibility for implementing the pilot scheme lies on the individual police districts.
Katrine Nordbjærg is cautiously optimistic about the pilot project: “They signal that the situation is serious. But at the same time, I can’t help questioning: does she really only get a 50-kilometer radius of safety, while he has the whole country, the whole world?”
Ditte Bjerregaard sees a need for more preventive measures. The CFV has proposed an action plan that includes early detection, rapid intervention and consistent support for women and their children and the recognition of femicide as a separate crime. Also, she highlights the need for more political action: “Protecting women cannot be left to fragmented local initiatives. It requires political will and coordinated national leadership”.
Invisible victims
Nordbjærg fears that the affected children are being overlooked: “Part of our prevention efforts should focus much more on children. Children who grow up in violent families are at a higher risk themselves. Boys are more likely to become perpetrators later in life, and girls are more likely to end up in violent relationships. They carry the dynamics and the language of violence with them,” she says.
“Sadly, we see that many caseworkers are completely overworked. So part of any prevention strategy must be something as basic as ensuring that family services in municipalities are given the necessary resources.”
