Once again, we hear of a sexual assault committed by a taxi driver in Oslo. It is no longer a given that taking a taxi home is safe, particularly for young women who are alone.
A taxi driver in his 50s has been charged with abusing his position to engage in sexual acts with a woman in her 20s in Oslo.
The offence is alleged to have taken place in Bislett and St. Hanshaugen during the night of 25 May 2024, writes Avisa Oslo. The young woman who was the victim in the case says she “has nightmares about the incident”.
The woman in her 20s had intended to take a taxi home from the city precisely in order to feel safe. But that is not how it turned out.
She was subjected to sexual assault in Bislett and St. Hanshaugen. It does not emerge clearly from the text whether this means that she was assaulted in both places, or whether it took place during the journey.
The woman had been drinking a little, but says she was not drunk. Even if she had been intoxicated, that would not mean that the sexual assaults to which she was subjected were any less of a crime.
The Public Prosecutor describes an extensive sequence of events in which the driver is alleged to have groped the woman’s breasts and genitals and forced her to perform sexual acts on him. He is also alleged to have attempted to force her to perform oral sex.
The young woman has been deeply affected by the incident.
“She has had frequent nightmares about the incident and has fallen behind in her studies because of concentration difficulties. She has been afraid to take taxis and does not think she will use a taxi alone again,” says counsel for the aggrieved party (bistandsadvokat) Hege Salomon.
The fact that it took more than two years before the indictment was issued only compounds the trauma the woman has been subjected to.
“It is highly unfortunate for the aggrieved party that the case processing time has been so long,” Salomon states.
The trial begins on 19 November, just a few days before two and a half years will have passed since the assaults.
No rape charge was brought, only a charge of abuse of position. According to her counsel for the aggrieved party, the woman will seek compensation from the perpetrator. He also risks a prison sentence, as well as losing the right to drive a taxi in the future.
Oslo’s taxi problem
Approximately 95 per cent of taxi drivers in Oslo have an immigrant background. This is based on earlier surveys by the Norwegian Taxi Association (Norges Taxiforbund), as the industry has a very high proportion of drivers and licence holders of foreign origin, Aftenposten wrote as early as 2006.
There is no reason to assume that the number of immigrants (or people with an immigrant background) among taxi drivers in Oslo is lower 20 years later. Oslo’s taxi industry has been completely dominated by immigrants for several decades.
At least 14 women have been subjected to sexual assaults by taxi drivers in the capital over the past couple of years. The figures include only cases that have ended up in court.
It is highly likely that the real figures are far higher. Very few young women who are subjected to sexual assault report the matter to the police.
Prevalence studies show that as many as 80–90 per cent of those subjected to rape never report the offence to the police, according to Bufdir.