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Gunnhild Haugen: We're doing this because we receive a large number of complaints from people claiming that they have faced discrimination at the doors of Oslo's nightclubs. But there is a huge amount of uncertainty surrounding how widely this is actually happening, so our initiative is also meant to discern the true extent of the problem. Racism is often hard to document; it's up to each individual to report it, and then he or she needs to actually prove that the discrimination was based solely on skin color. That's why we feel it is our society's duty to get to the bottom of this.
How are the instructors trained?It's true that keeping Oslo's nightlife clean costs money, but it's worth it. The benefits of battling racism obviously outweigh the costs.
How do you find the people who carry out the inspections?
For the non-white group, we recruit students and people from activist organizations. This way, we're sure to find inspectors that won't be recognized. For the group of white Norwegians, we use inspectors who work for the city.
We explain our objectives and the mission—what they're allowed to do and what they can't do. The inspectors we hire are primarily trained by our own employees. They are obviously strictly prohibited from inciting or provoking any action from the bouncers themselves.How do you pick out their outfits? Are they all identically dressed—same shirts, same trousers, same shoes, same haircuts?
They're almost identically dressed—within reason of course. There are slight variations in the outfits. We dress them in a way that ensures that the establishments won't be able to claim that the people in Group 2 were denied entry because they were dressed differently. Then they get in line next to each other, and we see if both groups make it into the club.
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We don't film or record anything. We carry out the inspection, write a report, and present it to the nightclub in question. The owner is then allowed to comment. We have attorneys review the entire thing before we draw any conclusions.How do the nightclub owners react, when confronted with your exposé?
No one has ever admitted to racial discrimination. They'll say things like, "They weren't adhering to the dress code" or that there was a guest list, or that it was a private party. But then, it naturally becomes a problem for them that our group of white Norwegians was allowed to enter despite not being on the guest list or invited to the private party. And they rarely have a good explanation for that.What is the worst example of nightlife discrimination you've come across?
I think the worst kind of discrimination is the discrimination we don't see—in nightclubs or outside. There are people experiencing this up close and personally, and I think the worst happens when we're not around. But we're trying our hardest to expose the nightclubs responsible for discrimination.You've carried out 278 inspections and found 12 examples of discrimination. That's not a whole lot. Is it worth the resources that are being spent on inspecting?
I think 12 cases in five years is a lot. It's true that keeping Oslo's nightlife clean costs money, but it's worth it. The benefits of battling racism obviously outweigh the costs.Has Copenhagen gotten in touch with you at all?
Yes. Copenhagen has showed great interest in the inspections initiative—it has asked about how we carry them out and what results they've yielded so far.