There were no reports of forced expulsion of those having a valid claim to refugee status. The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. There are no legal or practical impediments to women's participation in government and politics. There is an active feminist political party, the Women's List, which won 3 of 63 seats in the 1995 parliamentary elections. Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights A number of human rights groups operate without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
Government officials are generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
The culture of the ethnically homogeneous population is strongly egalitarian and opposed to discrimination based on any of these factors. Women Violence against women received increasing public attention, due largely to the efforts of the Women's List political movement, which continued to raise it in political debate. Both facilities are funded by national and municipal governments and private contributions. The Reykjavik City Hospital emergency ward now has an all-female staff to care for rape victims. The police have introduced a program to train officers in correct interrogation procedures, and other government agencies are paying closer attention to the problem of violence against women.