Geotv - AFP, 24 November 2017
STOCKHOLM:
The Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, has been rattled
by a sex scandal as several members, their wives and daughters accused an
influential person with close ties to the prestigious institution of assault.
The #MeToo
wave exposing sexual misconduct which began in Hollywood has shaken artistic,
media and political circles in Sweden, one of the most gender equal countries
in the world, as thousands of women have spoken up and campaigned against
harassment.
Sweden´s
prestigious literary scene was drawn into the fray on Tuesday when newspaper of
reference Dagens Nyheter published the testimony of 18 women claiming to have
been assaulted or raped by one of the most influential figures in Stockholm´s
cultural scene.
The accused
man´s name has not been published in the media due to Swedish laws on the
presumption of innocence. But his identity is generally known by the public as
he is a high-profile person in cultural circles and his name has appeared in
online chat forums discussing the issue.
The man did
not respond to AFP´s request for a comment, though he told Dagens Nyheter he
was innocent.
Married to
a writer with "close links to the Swedish Academy", the man runs a
cultural club showcasing exhibitions, readings and performances by both the
cultural elite and hopefuls -- including Nobel literature laureates -- and
dubbed by some as "the Academy´s living room".
The club
was partly funded by the Academy.
'Everyone
has always known'
The alleged
sexual assaults occurred between 1996 and 2017, some of them in the club´s
premises, according to Dagens Nyheter.
Several
women spoke openly, allowing the newspaper to reveal their identities, and
their stories were corroborated by eyewitnesses, the paper said.
One of them
claims to have been raped in an apartment in a posh Stockholm neighbourhood.
"Everyone
knows and everyone has always known," that he was attacking young women,
she says.
The women
said they remained silent out of fear of jeopardising their careers because of
the man´s connections and close relations with leading publishers, producers,
directors and composers.
After a
"crisis meeting" on Thursday evening, the Swedish Academy announced
that it was cutting all ties with the accused, whom it had funded and allowed to
manage an apartment it owns in an upscale Paris neighbourhood.
The Academy
said in a statement that during the meeting, "it emerged that members of
the Academy, daughters of Academy members, wives of Academy members and staff
of the Academy have experienced unwanted intimacy or inappropriate
behaviour" by the man.
The
prominent institution said it would launch an internal inquiry to find out if
the man "has had any direct or indirect influence on the Academy´s prizes,
scholarships, and fundings of any kind".
Culture
Minister Alice Bah Kuhnke said she regretted honouring him with the 2015 Order
of The Polar Star, awarded to members of the Swedish royal family and
foreigners for services to Sweden.
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