In 2017 Denmark was named the second best country for gender equality in the European Union, beaten only by its neighbor Sweden. It was one of only nine countries to hit EU childcare targets, had one of the most gender-equal attitudes to housework, and was one of the few European countries close to achieving a 50:50 parliament, according to the Gender Equality Index.
Several studies say that Denmark has the highest prevalence of sexual violence in Europe.
The Danish Ministry of Justice estimates that around 5,100 women a year are victims of rape or attempted rape, while the University of Southern Denmark put this figure as high as 24,000 in 2017 – a high number for a country with a relatively small population (5.8 million).
That same year, only 890 rapes were reported to the police, of which 535 led to prosecutions, and 94 ended in convictions. Speaking to Amnesty, victims said they often found “the reporting process and its aftermath immensely traumatising”, either because they were not believed, they were interrogated by officers, or, in one case, important evidence that was later needed at trial was allegedly not properly collected.
The National Danish Police have told BBC News that they are striving to improve how they deal with people reporting rape, and that they are working to new guidelines that were drawn up in 2016.