Norway

OVERVIEW

Norway, like other Scandinavian countries, offers a range of options for sexual and reproductive health care. While many forms of contraception, such as birth control pills, require a prescription, one can obtain condoms in supermarkets, pharmacies, health centers and kiosks without a prescription. Emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pills) are available at pharmacies and no prescription is required. There are also no age restrictions. There are no travel or residency restrictions related to foreigners with HIV/AIDS, and foreigners who test positive for HIV will not be deported. PrEP and PEP are available in Norway. Furthermore, Norway has an extensive and nationwide HPV vaccination program. Norway offers superlative parental leave options compared to global standards, which can be reviewed in the "Pregnancy" section. Finally, abortion is fully legal upon request during the first trimester of pregnancy, and it is available under certain circumstances after the first trimester.

Contraception (Birth Control)

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Norway, most forms of contraception, such as pills and IUDs, are only available with a prescription. However, once you have a prescription, you can find many forms of contraception at pharmacies and health clinics. Additionally, condoms are widely available and require no prescription. They can be found in pharmacies, supermarkets, sex shops, kiosks and many other locations.

Like other Scandinavian countries, Norway is rather progressive when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. The government has donated a substantial amount of its money and resources to international efforts related to gender equality and women's health. In 2017, the revised budget proposed to further expand these efforts with an additional NOK 32 million in funding. Furthermore, sex education remains a crucial cornerstone in daily life. For example, the state-funded educational television series, Newton, runs a sex education program, which provides frank discussion on a range of topics.

According to a 2015 report, it was found that 78.6% of Norwegian women (who are of reproductive age and married/in unions) use some form of contraception and 6.1% of Norwegian women have unmet family planning needs. The most common forms of contraception are birth control pills (27%), IUDs (20.3%), condoms (11.1%) and female sterilization (6.7%). There were rather low rates of usage for traditional methods, such as the withdrawal method (4.0%) and the rhythm method (3.1%), as well as contraceptive implants (2.9%) and injectables (0.0%).

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Norway, you can buy condoms at pharmacies, kiosks, vending machines, grocery stores, department stores, sex shops, perfume boutiques, hairdressers and petrol/gas stations. You can purchase condoms from online retailers like Biovea, which sell a variety of brands, such as Trojan and Durex, and can deliver the condoms to your Norwegian address. There's also a website where you can order condoms online for free.
• You can find spermicide at the pharmacy/chemist and no prescription is needed.
• In Norway, you can find a variety of birth control pill brands. But first, you'll need to get a prescription to access the pills. To do this, you can arrange an appointment with a General Practitioner, who will provide a basic consultation and may offer to do a pelvic exam/pap smear (though this isn't compulsory). Then, a one-year prescription for a birth control pill is usually written. Once you have a prescription, you can obtain the pills at pharmacies, health clinics or IPPF-affiliated programs. Some of the birth control pill brands you can expect see at pharmacies include Almina, Cerazette, Conludag, Desogestrel Orifarm, Marvelon, Mercilon, Microluton, Microgynon, Nordette, Oralcon, Qlaira, Synfase, Vinelle, Yasmin, Yasminelle and Yaz.
  • Tip: "After losing our luggage by the airline, we went to the pharmacy Boots Apotek Grunerløkka, located Sofienberggata 6, 0551 Oslo, Norway. The pharmacist very kindly helped me to find the equivalence of my pill in its database and sold it to me without problem."
• You can find the contraceptive patch, like the Evra patch, in Norway, but a prescription is needed. Once you have a prescription, you can find it at the pharmacy.
• You can find IUDs and hormonal coils in Norway, including Jaydess, Kyleena, Levosert and Mirena.
• You can find contraceptive implants, such as Nexplanon, in Norway.
• You can find contraceptive injectables, such as Depo-Provera, in Norway.
• You can find contraceptive rings, such as Nuvaring, at pharmacies in Norway.

Costs

• The cost of condoms should be around 3-4 Norwegian kroner each. They usually come in packs of five or ten. However, there are also ways to access free condoms online in Norway.
• The price of birth control pills will vary, generally ranging between 80 kr to 250 kr for 3 packs of pills. However, the prices depend on the brand and whether the customer buys packs with 21 pills or 28 pills. Here's some examples of prices from January 2018: Almina (233.90 kr 3*28-piece pack),Cerazette (179.50 kr for a 3*28-piece pack), Marvelon (188.20 kr for 3*28-piece pack), Microgynon (86.60 kr for 3*21 piece-pack), Yasmin (254.70 kr for 3*28 piece-pack).
• The price for a 9-piece pack of Evra contraceptive patches is 270.70 (as of January 2018).
• The price of an IUD ranges between 1000-1300 kr per piece (as of January 2018). For example, here are some prices: Jaydess (1,083.10 kr), Kyleena (1,279.60 kr), Mirena from Bayer (1,227.30 kr).
• The price for the contraceptive implant, such as Nexplanon, is around 1,128.10 kr (as of January 2018).
• As for contraceptive injectables, the price for 1 ml (pre-filled syringe) of 150 mg Depo-Provera is 88.60 kr, as of January 2018.
• As for contraceptive rings, the price for a 3-piece pack of Nuvaring is 368.50 kr, as of January 2018.

Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill)

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Norway, emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pills) are available over-the-counter. No prescription is needed and there are no age restrictions. You can obtain emergency contraceptive pills at family planning clinics, youth clinics, pharmacies, supermarkets, gas stations, schools and IPPF-affiliated programs. They can also be obtained online from Norwegian websites.

You can also obtain an IUD, which is included in the national policy guidelines as a valid form of emergency contraception. However, this will require a visit to a licensed health care practitioner to insert the IUD, so this will take more time than simply obtaining ECPs over-the-counter.

The official guidelines for emergency contraceptive usage in Norway can be found in the Metodebok: Sex og samfunn, which was revised in 2012.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Norway, you can obtain emergency contraceptive pills (morning after pills) at family planning clinics, youth clinics, pharmacies, supermarkets, gas stations, schools and IPPF-affiliated programs. They can also be purchased online from Norwegian websites. No prescription is needed and there are no age restrictions. Some pills you can expect to see are ellaOne, which is the longest-lasting EC is currently ellaOne. It lasts up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. You also may find Levonelle 1500 or NorLevo 1.5mg. You may also find Postinor For updated instructions on how to take these pills, click here.
  • Tip: You can try to get ECPs at Norsk forening for seksuell og reproduktiv helse og rettigheter (Address: RFSU Norge AS, Kirkegt. 5 Oslo, 0152)
• You can also use an intrauterine device (IUD) as a form of emergency contraception. Contact a licensed health care provider in Denmark to learn more details.
• If you can't access dedicated emergency contraception, you can use regular birth control pills are replacement ECPs. To do this, you can take take brands like Follistrel, Microluton, Eugynon, Follimin, Microgynon and Nordette. For updated instructions on how to take these pills, click here.

Costs

The cost of ECPs are not reimbursed by the National Insurance Scheme. However, ECPs are always free for rape victims. They are also often delivered free of charge to young people at youth clinics or to vulnerable populations at public health centers. Generally, for LNG type of pills (like Levonelle 1500, NorLevo and Postinor), you can expect to pay around€ 26,50, as of 2013. For UPA type of emergency contraceptive pills (like ellaOne), you can expect to pay around € 39, as of 2013.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here or visit the "Medications" section below. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Norway, there are no legal restrictions related to people with HIV/AIDS. This means that, if you're not Norwegian, you can legally visit the country, regardless of your HIV status. You will not be asked for your medical records or information about your HIV status upon entry into the country. It's important to note that, if you want to stay in the country for more than three months, you will probably be offered the option to take a tuberculosis test and an HIV test. However, you can decide to stay in Norway for an extended period of time and apply for residency, regardless of HIV status. Furthermore, if you're a foreigner who is found to be HIV positive, you will not be penalized or deported based on your HIV status. You can also import antiretroviral medications for personal use.

Regarding HPV, Norway has had a nationwide HPV vaccination program since 2009, and it offers free HPV vaccines to young women (currently, this applies to women born after 1991). According to a Norwegian study, it was found that about 45% of Norwegian women have HPV. To learn more details about the HPV vaccine in Norway, visit the "Medications & Vaccines" section below.

Testing Facilities

• The Olafia Clinic: "We are a specialist centre offering FREE testing, treatment and advice regarding prevention of sexually transmitted Infections (STIs)." For specialized services for men who have sex with men (MSM), call 912 40 312 to book an appointment from Tuesday to Friday between 12.30 pm – 3 pm. For specialized services for women who have sex with women (WSW), call 416 44 256 on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 11 am and 11.30 am. You can also SMS them and they'll get back to you. Address: Trondheimsveien 2 (building N in the old ”Schous brewery”). To get there, take bus number 30, 31 or tram 17 to Heimdalsgata OR tram number 11, 12 or 13 to Nybrua.

Support

• If you're a foreigner, according to one source (but we'll need more sources to confirm), you probably cannot receive public treatment related to HIV/AIDS.
• HivNorge / HivNorway: This HIV/AIDS organization in Norway was established in 1988. Address: Christian Krohgsgate 34, 0186 Oslo. Phone: 21 31 45 80. Email: post@hivnorge.no

Medications & Vaccines

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can access Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Norway. It is registered by the Norwegian Medicines Agency, and it has the same legal status as HIV treatment and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). If you obtain PrEP, you may be able to get it reimbursed by the National Insurance Scheme.
• You can access Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in Norway. It should be available free of charge after sexual contact. If you believe you have been potentially infected with HIV after sexual exposure, contact a local health care provider to learn how you can access PEP in Norway.
• You can access the HPV vaccine in Norway, and it's free for any women born in 1991 or later (until November 2018). The brand of HPV vaccine used in Norway is called Cervarix. It's injected in the upper arm and needs to be given three times. The country has had a nationwide HPV vaccination program since 2009, which is managed by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. For a complete list of HPV vaccination clinics in Norway, click here.

Costs

• Norway offers PrEP for free to at-risk populations (such as men who have sex with men and transgender people), as part of its National Health Service, as of 2016.

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can find pads/pantyliners in supermarkets, health stores and pharmacies.
• You can find tampons in supermarkets, health stores and pharmacies.
• You can find a variety of menstrual cups in Norway, either in physical stores or online. You can buy RubyCup at Chillout Travel Centre in Oslo (Address: Markveien 55, 0554 Oslo. Tel: 22 35 42 00; Email: post@chillout.no), Chillout Travel Centre in Bergen (Address: Torggaten 11, 5014 Bergen; Tel: 55 23 30 00; email: post@chillout.noor) or Jordnært (Address: Storgata 61, 2609 Lillehammer, Norway; email: post@jordnart.no). You can find Organicup sold at Mølleren Sylvia (Address: Hegdehaugsveien 14B, Oslo, Norway). You can find online retailers of LadyCup that cater to Norwegian customers, such as LadyCup Norway, Fertil.no and Komplett Apotek. Menstrual cups are also available to order from the Menskopp website. They offer free shipping worldwide.

Gynecological Exams

Laws & Social Stigmas

The Norwegian health authorities recommend that women over 25 years old receive a pap smear every three years. For women in this age range (25 to 69 years old) who have not received a pap smear in the last three years, or for women who have not taken a repeat test after cell changes, it's common to receive a letter from the Cancer Registry, which runs NCCSP, to inform that they should take a pap smear test.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• To arrange for a gynecological exam or pap smear test, you can make an appointment with a General practitioner (GP) or a gynecologist. If you would like to go to a gynecologist, you will first need a referral from GP.
• Following your pap smear test, your doctor will usually receive the results within two weeks, and the Cancer Registry of Norway receives the results within a month. In some cases, women may receive letters from the Cancer Registry if the results are not registered at the Registry when the letters from laboratories are sent. Finally, the patient will receive the results of the pap smear test from their doctor.

Pregnancy

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Norway, you are entitled to parental leave if you have been employed and have had a pensionable income for at least six of the ten months before the parental leave period. Furthermore, your annual income must exceed at least half of the National Insurance Basic Amount. If you aren't entitled to parental leave, you may be entitled to a Lump Sum Grant. Also, note that co-mothers share the same entitlements as fathers.

When you apply for parental leave, you need to choose between 100 percent or 80 percent of coverage. If you choose 100 percent, you receive 49 weeks of parental leave with 100 percent of coverage. If you choose 80 percent, you receive 59 weeks of parental leave with 80 percent of coverage. If there are two parents who are taking off time, they must choose the same coverage. It is required that three of the weeks are reserved for the mother, and they must be used prior to the birth of the child. The woman is entitled to begin taking benefits for up to twelve weeks before her due date, if she chooses.

The maternal and paternal quotas are 10 weeks each, and you don't need to complete all of your parental benefits in one timeframe. You can take some time off, and then you can use up some of your benefits later. However, parental benefits can only be used up until the child turns three years old.

For more details on Norwegian parental benefits, click here.

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Norway, abortion is fully legal and available upon request during the first trimester (first twelve weeks) of pregnancy. However, if the woman is under sixteen years old, her parents or guardians should be allowed to make a statement. Between twelve to eighteen weeks of pregnancy, abortion is legal if the pregnant woman's health or social situation makes the pregnancy difficult to continue, or if there is severe risk of fetal malformation, or if the woman became pregnant underage or as a result of abuse. After eighteen weeks, there are only extremely rare cases that are granted the legal permission to an abortion, which is reviewed on a case-to-case basis.

Norwegian abortion laws fall under the The Act Relating to the Termination of Pregnancy of 1975. This was followed by revisions to the law in 1978 tghat allowed a woman to decide on her own to terminate the pregnancy.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• To obtain an abortion, you must fill out a form at a doctor's office, which may be at a hospital or at a General Practitioner's office. The doctor is legally under professional secrecy, so he/she cannot publicly divulge information about your request. The doctor is then legally obligated to provide information to the pregnant woman about how the abortion will be performed, including potential complications, as well as the social support she can receive if she chooses to keep the child. Following this consultation, the pregnant woman will officially sign a request for an abortion, if she chooses to continue, and will verify that she received all required information from the doctor. The doctor will then forward the request to a hospital or clinic. Once the request has been processed, the abortion process can begin. Typically, this requires two visits. First, the woman receives a pre-examination and she is informed of hospital procedures. In the second visit, she will typically receive the actual abortion procedure, and she will stay a few hours afterward for observation.

Costs

• For people who are covered by the Norwegian health system, an abortion procedure should be free.

Advocacy & Counseling

What to Get & Where to Get It

• Phone for police & rescue coordination: 112
• Phone for ambulance rescue & emergencies: 113
• Emergency Number for Deaf: 1412
• Suicide Hotline: +47 815 33 300. For a complete list of suicide hotlines in Norway, click here.

List of Additional Resources

• Click here to learn about LGBTQ rights and laws in Norway.
• Foreningen for kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold (The Norwegian Organization for Sexual and Gender Diversity): This is the main group in Norway for LGBTQ people and rights.
• Sex og Politikk - The Norwegian Association for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: This organization was established in 1969. "Sex og Politikk – the Norwegian association for sexual and reproductive health and rights, is a non-governmental organisation working to promote and provide information about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), both in Norway and internationally."
• The Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights (Norsk Kvinnesaksforening, NKF): This is a nonpartisan political advocacy organization and Norway's oldest organization for women and girls. "The Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights (Norsk Kvinnesaksforening, NKF) is dedicated to eliminating attitudes, laws and regulations that are discriminatory towards women and which prevent gender equality. It is the oldest and leading women’s rights organisation in Norway, founded in 1884 by 171 prominent women and men, including several Norwegian Prime Ministers. The association has successfully campaigned for women’s right to education, the right to vote, the right to work and the establishment of what is now the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud."
• Norwegian Forum for Women's Development (FOKUS): "FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development - works to promote women’s empowerment, rights and access to resources. Through advocacy and international development cooperation, the organisation will strengthen women’s human rights and participation in society."
• MiRA Resource Centre for Black, Immigrant and Refugee Women: This NGO was founded in 1989, and it's headquartered in Oslo. Email: post@mirasenteret.no
• Kvinne Lobby (Norwegian Women's Lobby: "The Norwegian Women’s Lobby (NWL) works to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls. NWL is an umbrella organization for the Norwegian women’s rights and women’s organizations, and was founded in 2014. NWL has ten member organizations."
• Norwegian Women's Public Health Association: This organization does humanitarian work, like run hospitals and nursing homes. "The Norwegian Women's Public Health Association is Norway's largest women's organization, our purpose is to contribute to a safe and inclusive society through the voluntary activities of our members."
• Nordic Women's University: This university is focused on teaching and researching feminist issues/pedagogies.