Introduction

Artistic freedom is highly valued and is a central principle in the cultural policies of the Nordic countries, as well as in their cultural cooperation (see Meld.St.22, 2023; Ministry of Education and Culture, 2017; Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, 2013; Nordic Council of Ministers, 2020; Prop. 2009/10:3). A key aspect of this is the ability of artists and authors to work freely, without the threat of violence, harassment, or intimidation. However, previous reports indicate that threats, violence, and harassment remain significant issues for artists and authors in the Nordic countries. As a result, many artists have resorted to self-censorship, avoiding certain topics or public appearances (see, for example, Konstnärsnämnden, 2017; Myndigheten för kulturanalys, 2016; Slaatta & Okstad, 2021).

In addition to being a significant issue for the work environment of artists and authors, threats, violence, and harassment also represent a major problem for democracy. Like free journalism, political debate, and civil freedom of expression, the free practice of arts and culture is essential to a vibrant democratic society. Yet, knowledge about the prevalence of threats, violence, and harassment against artists and authors remains limited in several Nordic countries, including Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Major studies conducted in Sweden and Norway are now almost a decade old.

This report presents the findings of surveys conducted by Kulturanalys Norden in collaboration with eight organisations representing artists and authors across the Nordic countries. Building on previous studies and newly collected data, this report enhances our understanding of the situation for artists and authors in the Nordic countries.

Aim and questions

The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of threats, violence, and harassment against artists and to examine whether certain groups of artists and authors are particularly affected. It also aims to explore the consequences of these experiences for those who encounter them. The report is based on the following research questions:

To what extent do artists and authors experience threats, violence and harassment in relation to their profession?
Are there differences in experiences of threats, violence and harassment based on gender, age, or across different art and cultural fields?
What are the consequences of threats, violence and harassment for artists and authors in their professional practice?

Implementation of the survey

To investigate the prevalence of threats, violence, and harassment against artists and writers, eight surveys were conducted in February 2024. Annex 1 provides a more detailed description of the population, the surveys, and the data collection procedure.

Eight artists' organisations in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

The surveys were addressed to members of eight organisations representing professional artists and authors (see Table 1). Two organisations from each country were included in the survey: Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The organisations that participated in the surveys represent either visual artists, performing artists or authors.

Table 1. Organisations that participated in the survey

Name of the organisation	Country	Area
Billedkunstnernes Forbund (Association of Visual Artists)	Denmark	Visual artists
Dansk Artist Forbund (Danish Artists' Association)	Denmark	Performing artists
Rithöfundasamband Íslands (Writers' Union of Iceland)	Iceland	Author
Samband Íslenskra Myndlistarmanna (Association of Artistic Artists in Iceland)	Iceland	Visual artists
Creo	Norway	Performing artists
Den norske Forfatterforening (Norwegian Authors' Union)	Norway	Author
Konstnärernas Riksorganisation (Swedish Artists' Association)	Sweden	Visual artists
Sveriges Författarförbund (Swedish Authors' Union)	Sweden	Author

For practical reasons, it was necessary to select specific organisations. Artists and authors in the Nordic countries are represented by various organisations, but the structure differs between countries. For example, in Sweden, authors are primarily members of the Swedish Authors' Union, while in Norway, authors are divided into separate organisations for fiction, non-fiction, and children's and youth literature.

The choice of organisations was based, in addition to practical possibilities for collaboration, on the size of the organisations and the possibility of including all three professional groups: visual artists, performing artists and authors.

There is limited data on the exact number of professional artists and authors working in the Nordic countries. The results presented in this report cannot be generalised to the entire population of artists and authors in the Nordic countries.

Finland, Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland

Despite several attempts, Kulturanalys Norden was unable to establish cooperation with any organisations in Finland. To access relevant knowledge and research from Finland, Kulturanalys Norden cooperated with the Centre for Cultural Policy Research (Cupore) and obtained summarised results from the Arts and Culture Barometer survey.

There are a few organisations representing artists or authors in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. After contacting the organisations Kulturanalys Norden was able to identify, it was determined that their small membership sizes posed a risk of disclosing individual information, making collaboration not feasible.

Survey design

The survey was designed in consultation with the participating organisations, key contacts from relevant authorities, and researchers from the Nordic countries. It draws heavily from the questionnaire used Myndigheten för Kulturanalys report Hotad kultur (Myndigheten för kulturanalys, 2016).

The survey for this report was conducted online and consisted of 18 questions, which were grouped into three sections:

background questions
questions on experiences of threats, violence and harassment (21 types of events)
questions about perceptions and statements about threats, violence and harassment.

The survey was translated into Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and English.

Respondents and non-response

A total of 3 184 artists and authors responded to the eight surveys. The response rates varied across the different organisations (see Table 2). The highest response rate was 34 per cent for Sveriges författarförbund, while the lowest was 4 percent for Creo.

Table 2. Participating organisations, number of members, and responses

Billedkunstnernes Forbund (Association of Visual Artists)	Denmark	Visual artists	Billedkunstnernes Forbund (Association of Visual Artists)	Denmark	Visual artists	Billedkunstnernes Forbund (Association of Visual Artists)
Billedkunstnernes Forbund (Association of Visual Artists)	Denmark	Visual artists	2 100	1 895	263	14
Dansk Artist Forbund (Danish Artist Association)	Denmark	Performing artists	1 401	1 289	183	14
Rithöfundasamband Íslands (Writers' Union of Iceland)	Iceland	Authors	687	647	138	21
Samband Íslenskra Myndlistarmanna (Association of Icelandic Visual Artists)	Iceland	Visual artists	960	926	204	22
Creo	Norway	Performing artists	10 930	10 340	403	4
Den norske Forfatterforening (Norwegian Authors' Union)	Norway	Authors	760	730	140	19
Konstnärernas Riksorganisation Swedish Artists' Association	Sweden	Visual artists	3 191	3 175	701	22
Sveriges Författarförbund (Swedish Authors' Union)	Sweden	Authors	3 552	3 421	1 152	34

Comment: Number of members is based on data from January 2024. Number of responses refers to fully completed surveys. Response rate refers to the percentage of those who received the survey who sent in a complete questionnaire. *Creo members include an unknown number of members not included in the population. Due to limitations in the membership system, the survey had to be sent to all members. Among the respondents, 10 per cent are in professional categories that fall outside the survey population.

The large non-response rate introduces greater uncertainty into the estimates. As a result, individual findings and estimates should be interpreted with caution. A high non-response rate does not necessarily mean that the results cannot be generalised. The issue arises if the non-response is systematic and relates to the topic being measured. In this survey, it is likely that those who have experienced threats, violence, or harassment were more inclined to respond, viewing the issue as important. This could lead to an overestimation of the proportion of affected individuals. On the other hand, it is also possible that those who have experienced such issues participate less or even leave the profession, which would lead to an underestimation of the proportion of artists and authors who have experienced threats, violence or harassment. A more detailed discussion of non-response can be found in Annex A.

Concepts and definitions

In this report, the terms artist and author are used to describe in a broader sense the survey population. The surveys were sent to three occupational groups: visual artists, performing artists and authors. Within each occupational group there are several professions and specialisations.

The terms "threats," "violence," and "harassment" refer to 21 distinct incidents in this report. Results are often presented in two main categories: threats and harassment, and violence, theft, and vandalism.

An individual is considered to have experienced threats or harassment if, in the context of their professional role as an artist or author, they have encountered any of the following

threatening statement face to face
threatening phone call
threatening sms/mms
threatening letter/postcard
threatening e-mail
threats/attacks via social media
sexual harassment
hijacked internet account (or created fake one in your name)
personal information exposed online
unwanted goods ordered in your name
threatening "gift"
been unauthorisedly photographed/recorded
unpleasant visit, stalking or mapping
other forms of intimidation or harassment.

Experiences of violence, theft and vandalism refer to the following types of events

punch, kick or similar
push or similar
violence with weapons
arson/blasting
scribble
theft
other forms of violence, vandalism or theft.

No distinction is made between legal and illegal events, although some types of events may have legal significance and can be linked to relevant legislation in the Nordic countries. However, the events are not strictly based on criminal offences or on what can be classified as an offence, which varies from country to country.

See for example Bladini (2017) for a description of the legal regulation of hate speech, threats and other offences in the Nordic countries.

The events included in the questionnaire do not specify whether the perpetrator or sender is internal or external. As a result, it is not possible to determine whether the perpetrator or sender is from the same organisation as the respondent, such as a colleague.

Disposition

Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 provides an overview of existing knowledge on threats, violence, and harassment against artists, authors, and other professionals active in the public sphere. This chapter also includes specially processed data from the Finnish Arts and Culture Barometer, conducted by Cupore.

Chapter 3 presents the survey results, organised by country, with each section detailing the findings from the two participating organisations in each country. The chapter concludes with a summary of the results, highlighting both similarities and differences between professional groups and countries.

The report concludes in Chapter 4 with a presentation of the key findings.