Violence, Abuse and Negligence

If you are experiencing violence, please understand that it’s not your fault and you can get help.

To report violence of any kind against yourself or against a child, call 112 or open a web chat directly to 112, the National Emergency line.

Read more about violence on the website of the Icelandic Police.

Women and their children, who are experiencing domestic violence have a safe place to go, The Women’s Shelter. It is also intended for women who are victims of rape and/or human trafficking.

At the shelter, women are offered the help of consultants. They get a place to stay as well as advice, support, and useful information.

See more information about The Women’s Shelter here.

The 112.is website has clear information and instructions on how to react in cases of abuse in close relationships, sexual abuse, negligence and more.

Do you recognise abuse? Read stories about people in various hard situations, to be better able to distinguish between bad communication and abuse.

“Know the red flags” is an awareness campaign by the Women’s shelter and Bjarkarhlíð that deals with abuse and violence in close relationships. The campaign shows short videos where two women talk about their history with violent relationships and reflect on the early warning signs.

According to Icelandic Child Protection Law, everyone has a duty to report, to the police or child welfare committees, if there is suspicion of violence against a child, if it´s being harrassed or living under unacceptable conditions.

The fastest and easiest thing to do is to contact 112. In case of violence against a child you can also get directly in contact with the child welfare committee in your area. Here is a list of all the committees in Iceland.

Human trafficking is a problem in many parts of the world. Iceland is not an exception.

But what is human trafficking?

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes human trafficking like this:

“Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit. Men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime, which occurs in every region of the world. The traffickers often use violence or fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.”

The UNODC website has extensive information about the issue.

The Government of Iceland has published a brochure, in three languages, with information about human trafficking and directions about how to spot when people might be victims of human trafficking.

Human Trafficking Indicators:  English  –  Polish  –  Icelandic

Abuse against people online, especially children is becoming a bigger problem. It´s important and possible to report illegal and inappropriate content on the internet. Save The Children runs a tip line where you can report online content harmful to children.