Police in Malmö, southern Sweden, have admitted that they are “embarrassed and irritated” after a man was murdered and a police station fire bombed, despite a huge drive to combat crime in the area. Read the full story

A third of the staff members working in the largest hospital accident and emergency department in Sweden believe women are to blame if they are physically abused by their partners.

The study, which questioned 217 medical personnel working at Stockholm South General Hospital (Södersjukhuset), also revealed that one-in-ten do not believe it is their responsibility to enquire about how a woman came by her injuries.

Between 15 and 20 Swedish women are killed by their partners every year, with around half of those having previously sought medical attention for injuries sustained through abuse. According to Sveriges Radio (SR), the country’s casualty departments are often the only point of contact between the women and the system.

“The study shows that we still have a lot of work to do in terms of people’s attitudes,” Maaret Castrén, a professor in emergency medicine working with clinical research and training at the hospital, told SR.

“I was somewhat surprised that it’s still considered not to be our job to investigate the cause of women’s injuries and that people still think that women’s behaviour in some way gives a man the right to hit them,” Castrén said, adding that she believes more emphasis should be placed on the issue during basic medical education and on-the-job training.

Head of the Centre for Knowledge on Men’s Violence Against Women (Nationellt centrum för kvinnofrid – NCK) at Uppsala University, Professor Gun Heimer, said the findings of the survey are in line with other international research. “What’s important with the study is that the results are highlighted and we can see that this is how things are and now we have to be better,” she told SR.

A far right politician has been forced to apologise after the Norwegian media uncovered a letter sent to his colleagues, in which he suggests Muslims should be psychologically de-programmed against violent tendencies. Read the full story

Five Swedish teenage girls have been questioned about the savage beating of a fellow Swedish schoolgirl in Malmo. Read the full story

A six-year-old Swedish boy has been stabbed in the neck at a preschool after becoming the target of bullies for liking pink, nail polish and ballet. Read the full story

Yesterday marked 35 years since Icelandic women first dropped everything and went on a de facto strike to highlight their importance to society. It is thought some 90 percent of all women in Iceland took that day off in order to demand the same rights and wages as men. Read the full story

The Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations and the Islamic Council of Norway have published a joint statement that condemns violence in close relationships and within the family. Read the full story

In Finland, the weather was soggy, grey and chilly for the Midsummer Day festivities. This apparently dampened the enthusiasm of boaters both at sea and on the nation’s lakes, where coast guards reported far fewer drunken revellers than expected. During ramped-up harbour patrols in Helsinki and Kirkkonummi, all but one of the passengers of the 120 boats the police inspected were wearing their required life vests, and no one was recklessly drunk. Read the full story

A new protest movement has been started in Iceland, MBL.is reports: the Orange Protesters. A statement from the group says that Orange is a peaceful group of protesters, made up of people opposed to the violence of the last few days.

An Orange representative met with a police representative on Thursday to explain that protesters wearing orange clothes will be peaceful and oppose violence. Orange clothes will be the equivalent of a white flag to mark out peaceful protesters, the movement says. Read the full story

Police in Reykjavik today used pepper spray against protesters attempting to prevent Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde appearing on a television show being broadcast from Hotel Borg on Austurvollur Square in central Reykjavik. Read the full story