In the book “The Whistleblowers”, author and social scientist Heidi Helene Sveen takes a strong stand against Ap’s handling of the much-discussed Giske case, which she has reviewed from A to Z.
– For me, it is important that whistleblowers’ voices are heard in their entirety. I have followed the case from day one and saw that this was a bad process. AP’s handling of whistleblower cases is a terrifying example, says Sveen to NTB.
– Selected passive line
The warnings against Trond Giske received enormous attention when the case broke in December 2017.
In the book, Sveen swings the sword over how party leader Jonas Gahr Støre and then head of APS’s women’s network Anniken Huitfeldt fronted the case at the start. “Wobbling”, “woolly” and “trivializing” are words she uses to describe the handling.
“Støre and Huitfeldt had an excellent opportunity to show action, while at the same time they were given a golden opportunity to distance themselves from sexism and abuse of power. Instead, they chose a passive line,” she writes in the book.
She also believes that Støre double-communicated.
– At the start, Støre said that the notifications were taken very seriously, but at the same time referred to the events as “experiences”. The result was that whistleblowers felt that their stories were called into question, says Sveen.
Both Labor party leader Jonas Gahr Støre and party secretary Kjersti Stenseng have to endure harsh criticism for their handling of the whistleblower cases against Trond Giske in the book “Whistleblowers”. Here from AP’s press conference on the Giske case in 2018. Photo: Daae, Erlend Dalhaug / NTB
Fear of leaks
She also points out that party secretary Kjersti Stenseng established early on that there was no unculture in the Labor Party.
– But that was precisely what the whistleblowers had warned about, she points out.
Several of the whistleblowers made it clear that they did not want Stenseng to be involved in the processing of their case because she was “a sworn Giske friend”. Støre nevertheless chose to involve the party secretary in the process.
Sveen also points out that what whistleblowers feared most was that their names and stories would be leaked to the press.
– That is exactly what happened, she says.
Miss settlement
Sveen believes that it would have been entirely possible for Ap to address the Giske case before it was formally notified. In the book, she writes that Ap already had more than enough information early in the process to start an investigation. The party did not.
“The matter could have ended here,” writes Sveen.
– Instead of addressing the stories that were already well known in the party, they waited for someone to deliver formal notifications. They pushed the whistleblowers in front of them. Actually, it’s quite hair-raising, she says.
According to Sveen, Ap’s official story is that they were unaware of Giske’s behavior, and that this was about the reprehensible actions of a single person.
“For many of us who have followed the case closely, a different picture emerges. The party’s unwillingness to scrutinize its own failure over decades leaves a glaring void in the narrative. There is little help in pointing to one rotten apple when the whole basket is poisonous.” she writes in the book.
Sveen believes that Ap still has not properly dealt with uncultured and misogynistic attitudes.
– The settlement with such attitudes is totally absent in Ap. Many have known about Giske’s behaviour. They still have power in the party, she claims.
New notice
In the book, she has interviewed eight of the whistleblowers. One of them has been unknown to the public until now.
Giske has always rejected the accusations of sexual harassment, but resigned as Ap deputy leader in January 2018 as a result of the whistleblower cases. In August 2020, he also had to withdraw as a candidate for the post of county leader in Trøndelag Ap due to new notifications.
Since then, he has built up Ap’s largest local team, Nidaros social democratic forum, in Trondheim.
Ap, for its part, has concluded that Giske has broken the party’s ethical regulations when it comes to sexual harassment.
– Must be safe
NTB has submitted the criticism in the book to both Trond Giske, Jonas Gahr Støre and Kjersti Stenseng. Giske tells NTB that he does not want to comment on the case, while Støre refers to the party office.
Stenseng tells NTB that she has not read the book and does not want to comment on individual excerpts.
– On a general basis, I would say that since 2017 the Labor Party has had clearer guidelines for handling notifications and has put a lot of focus on good party culture through, among other things, information and its own education rings. It must be safe to be active in the Labor Party, and we are continuously working on that, says the party secretary.
Hope others can learn
Sveen himself hopes the book can serve as a shock and warning to other organisations.
– The case shows how difficult it is to give notice in a hierarchical organization like the Labor Party. Now we see that exactly the same thing is happening in the Armed Forces, she points out.
– Do you see any signs of change?
– The collective awareness of sexual harassment has indeed increased. But in concrete cases it often goes wrong anyway. Many organizations have a weak awareness of notification processes, but are more concerned with safeguarding their reputation, says Sveen.
