The head of the Nobel literature prize panel has resigned over her handling of sexual harassment allegations made against the husband of one of its members.
Swedish Academy boss Sara Danius announced her decision to step down following a three-hour emergency meeting of the institution’s members yesterday in Stockholm, The Guardian reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Her resignation comes after a Swedish newspaper reported that 18 women had made allegations of harassment and physical abuse against the husband of Katarina Frostenson, a member of the Academy.
Frostenson also stepped down yesterday. Her husband, Jean-Claude Arnault, denies the allegations against him.
A further three of the Academy’s 18 members withdrew last week over the issue. In a statement, the board said: “It is inevitable that a severe crisis at a prize-awarding institution also harms the Nobel Prize’s reputation. We can see that the trust in the Swedish Academy has been seriously damaged. It is not yet clear how this situation may tarnish the Nobel Prize’s reputation.”
The Academy has also come under fire for the way it handled the allegations of sexual misconduct. Having initially given Arnault financial help to run a cultural club in Stockholm, the Academy has now severed ties with him and launched an internal investigation.
State prosecutors are continuing to investigate incidents related to the allegations, Reuters reports.
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Elon Musk’s pivot from Mars to the moonIn the Spotlight SpaceX shifts focus with IPO approaching
-
‘Hong Kong is stable because it has been muzzled’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
