Doctoral Defence in Epidemiology – Svava Dögg Jónsdóttir

On Friday, 30 January 2026, Svava Dögg Jónsdóttir will defend her doctoral dissertation in epidemiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland. The dissertation is entitled:
Sexual Harassment and Violence in Work and Academic Settings among Women in Iceland: Women’s Trauma Histories.
Sexual violence in work and academic settings among women in Iceland: Cohort and registry-based studies.

The opponents are Dr. Isabelle Niedhammer, researcher at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), and Dr. Linda Magnusson Hanson, Professor of Epidemiology at Stockholm University.

The principal supervisor and advisor was Arna Hauksdóttir, Professor. In addition, the doctoral committee included Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir, Professor; Thor Aspelund, Professor; and Þórhildur Halldórsdóttir, Associate Professor.

Stefán Þ. Sigurðsson, Professor and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, will preside over the ceremony, which will take place in the Ceremonial Hall of the University of Iceland and begin at 9:00 a.m.

Abstract

Workplace sexual violence is a serious public health concern for women and has been associated with wide-ranging health and occupational consequences. Despite growing knowledge about the prevalence of such experiences, population-based studies examining risk factors and associations with mental and physical health outcomes remain limited. The aim of this thesis was to examine the prevalence of workplace sexual violence among Icelandic women, its associations with mental and physical health symptoms, and its relationship with prescribed medications.

The project was based on responses from more than 30,000 participants in the Stress-And-Gene-Analysis (SAGA) cohort, a population-based study conducted in Iceland in 2018–2019. Participants were Icelandic women aged 18–69 years who completed an online questionnaire on demographics, working conditions, and health.

Approximately one third of participants reported having experienced sexual harassment or violence in the workplace at some point, and a proportion reported such experiences in their current job. These experiences were more common among young women, women working shifts, and those working in certain work sectors. Lesbian and bisexual women were also more likely to report exposure. Workplace sexual violence was associated with poorer mental and physical health, including symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep problems, and increased sickness absence. When examining information on prescription data recorded in the years following participation in the study, women who had experienced workplace sexual violence were more likely to initiate treatment with antidepressants, anxiolytics/hypnotics/sedatives, and analgesics. These associations became weaker after accounting for childhood adversities.

Workplace sexual violence is common among Icelandic women and is associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes and medication prescriptions. The findings underscore the importance of policy development and targeted interventions to prevent violence in the workplace and to improve women’s safety and health.

About the doctoral candidate

Svava Dögg Jónsdóttir was born in 1987 in Reykjavík. She completed a B.Sc. degree in Psychology in 2015 and an M.A.S. degree in Applied Statistics in 2019, both from the University of Iceland. She began her doctoral studies in epidemiology in 2020.

Alongside her studies, Svava served as Chair of FEDON, the Association of Doctoral Students and Postdoctoral Researchers at the University of Iceland, from 2023 to 2025, and previously as a doctoral student representative on the Student Council from 2022 to 2023. She also taught and assisted in teaching epidemiology and statistics from 2020 to 2023, and supervised diploma students in the GRÓ-GEST Programme (Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme) in 2021.

In parallel with her academic work, Svava worked in project management at the start-up company Beanfee from 2018 to 2024, contributing to the development of software for behavioral training. Since 2024, Svava has worked as a Project Manager in the Department of Communicable Disease Control at the Directorate of Health, where she leads the European project ISNSS (Improving and Strengthening National Surveillance Systems), funded by the EU4Health Programme of the European Union.