Karina Hansen

Karina Hansen is a young Danish woman who was forcibly removed from her home to a Hammel Neurocenter in Denmark on February 12 2013.

Karina Hansen is a young Danish woman who was forcibly removed from her home for treatment against her will at Hammel Neurocenter in Denmark on February 12 2013. While Karina Hansen was twenty-four at the time of her forced removal, her battle with illness began as a teenager. In 2008 while Karina Hansen was admitted to an arthritis hospital in Gråsten, she was tenatively diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis. Her parents were not informed of this diagnosis at this time. Her treatment at this hospital involved graded exercise therapy (GET) which can be dangerous and worsen symptoms of ME. (add reference) In 2009 Karina's parents were informed that Karina could suffer from ME which was confirmed by Chief Physician Valerius from Hvidovre Hospital. In May of 2010, Karina Hansen was again pressured into hospitalization despite her previous experience of worsening with a hospital stay. Her sensitivities to light and sound were not taken into account. Severe ME poses many difficulties to a traditional hospital environment. During this stay, doctors considered the possibility of detaining Karina Hansen under the Mental Health Act but they were unable to as (according to the Medical Officer, Børge Sommer) Karina was "not considered depressive or psychotic." Karina chose to leave the hospital after three days. At this time, she determined to never be hospitalized again based on these detrimental experiences. In 2010, eleven days after this hospitalization, Dr. Henry Isager (a Danish expert in ME) examined Miss Hansen and also diagnosed her with ME. In 2011, Norwegian physician and ME expert Mette Sophie Johnsgaard examined Karina and agreed she has severe ME. (http://justiceforkarina.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42622428-skjoldans-letter-to-71-comiteeReference and Crowhurst, G. (2013) Severe ME,  UK: Stonebird) Karina Hansen has a well-established diagnosis of ME. She and her parents also had advice and treatment suggestions by ME experts that they chose to follow. Karina had had sufficiently negative experiences for her to choose not to undergo hospitalization or treatments such as GET again. In May of 2011, public health officers visited Karina and determined she gave informed consent for alternative or complementary therapy. She was deemed competent to choose her own treatment. The following was reported based on this visit (taken from Skjodan's letter http://justiceforkarina.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42622428-skjoldans-letter-to-71-comitee ) ""Karina appears clear, alert and oriented. She seems immediately mentally inconspicuous. She is considered to be well informed about her situation and she agrees with the "alternative" or "complementary" way to cope with the illness. She's crying when she informs us that she would very much like to participate in rehabilitation, but that she cannot manage anything because of extreme fatigue, extreme fatigability and activity-induced pain. She hopes that maximum relief in the long term will allow for spontaneous improvement of the disease. She has thus given informed consent to the omission of conventional medical treatment in, favor of an "alternative" or "complementary" medical treatment."

With the diagnosis of ME and Karina's mental competency confirmed multiple times, Karina and her family felt secure that all steps taken to keep Karina safe were taken. These past events lead us to the day Karina Hansen was forcibly removed from her home on February 12, 2013.

A petition demanding her release attracted nearly 3,000 signatures.

In 2015 a letter was signed by patients and sent to the Danish Prime Minister demanding her release.

Learn more

 * 2016, Karina Hansen 3: Update March 2016 (Valerie Eliot Smith)
 * 2016, Karina Hansen 2: the Ghost in the Room (Valerie Eliot Smith)
 * 2015, Justice for Karina Hansen
 * 2015, Hope for Karina Hansen With Help From Save4Children
 * 2015, 3 Ways to Help Karina Hansen - ME Hostage in Denmark
 * 2014, Karina Hansen - Prisoner of Denmark (Valerie Eliot Smith)
 * 2014, A YEAR LATER - KARINA HANSEN STILL CONFINED IN MENTAL WARD
 * 2013, Something rotten in the state of Denmark: Karina Hansen’s story
 * 2013, RELEASE KARINA HANSEN

Talks & interviews

 * 2014, Send a Card, Save a Life

Online presence

 * Twitter
 * Facebook