SIGTHRUÐUR GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR.

DIRECTOR of KVENNAATHVARF,
Iceland’s first and only women’s shelter.

ORIGIN STORY.

CHILDREN AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN ICELAND.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM THE SHELTER.

WHY A WOMEN’S SHELTER?

THE WOMEN’S SHELTER.

NORTHERN REMOTENESS.

TALKING ABOUT GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE.

ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN.

WORK NOW AND FUTURE PLANS.

BIOGRAPHY.

Since 2006, Sigthrudur has been the Director of the Women´s Shelter’s Association in Iceland and thereby the Director of the only crisis shelter for women victims of domestic violence in Iceland, located in Reykjavík. In her work she gets to know “some of the bravest and most resilient women I have ever met and their stories have encouraged me in the work against violence in intimate relationships.” One of our projects at the moment is building a house with small apartments where women victims of violence and their children can start a new life after they left the shelter. Also, inspired by the children in the shelter we try to raise awareness of the reality of children living in violent homes among politicians, teachers and youth workers. Sigthrudur’s educational background is in sociology, teaching and positive psychology. Prior to her present position she worked as a teacher and a social director in West Iceland.

AUDIO.

These videos are a part of a series of interviews conducted at “Women of the Arctic: Bridging Policy, Research, and Lived Experience”, a non-academic event co-organized with the UArctic and hosted by the 2018 UArctic Congress at the University of Helsinki 
on September 6-7, 2018.