Danish women are increasingly being subjected to domestic violence, physical attacks, stalking and sexual harassment. According to a study of 42,000 women in 28 EU countries published (March 2014) by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Denmark is at the top end of the scale in almost every parameter when it comes to violence against women.

 

Some 52 percent of the Danish women surveyed said they had been victims of physical or sexual violence – well above the EU average of 33 percent. Meanwhile 37 percent of Danish women indicated they have been subjected to sexual harassment within the last year, and 32 percent said they have been the victims of physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner.

 

The report concluded that the “more dominant an alcohol culture a country has, the higher the level of violence against women”. (Source: The Copenhagen Post)

 

Prenatal alcohol exposure

In January 2017 The Lancet published a systematic review and meta-analysis estimating national, regional, and global prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy and fetal alcohol syndrome. The analysis found that Denmark (45.8%) had one of the highest estimated prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy, behind only Ireland (60.4%) and Belarus (46.6%). "Alarmingly, about a quarter of women in the general population of Europe drink alcohol during pregnancy, which, as one would expect, is mirrored by also having the highest FAS prevalence—a prevalence that is 2.6 times higher than the global average."

 

The study also found that Denmark has one of the highest rates of children born with alcohol syndrome – 68 per 10,000 children per year. Denmark placed 6th in the international comparison.

 

Katrine Strandberg-Larsen, a lecturer at the department of public health at Copenhagen University, claims the Canadian researchers based their calculations on 20-year-old data, which does not correctly reflect today’s reality.

 

Strandberg-Larsen argues that recent data collected in 2012-2013 in fact shows that only 3 percent of Danish women drink alcohol during pregnancy, and of them, about 2.6 percent have just one glass per week. (Source: Copenhagen Post). Read dr Strandberg-Larsens full article HERE.

 

Dr Svetlana Popova, the lead author of the meta-analysis responded: "With respect to the comment of Strandberg-Larsen and colleagues from Denmark, the authors question our finding that the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy in the WHO European Region was estimated to be the highest among the six WHO regions. According to the latest Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014,2 however, almost all major alcohol indicators such as prevalence and level of consumption, rates of chronic and heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol use disorders are the highest in this region. Thus, the high prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy and FAS in the WHO European Region, which exceed global levels, should not come as a surprise."