Vibeke Ingeborg Salicath née Frisch (1861–1921) was a Danish philanthropist, feminist and politician. From the 1890s, together with her sister

Gyrithe Lemche Ellen Gyrithe Lemche née Frisch (1866–1945) was a Danish writer, women's rights campaigner and local historian. She is remembered in particular for the important part she played in the activities of the Danish Women's Society (''Dansk Kvindesa ...

, she was an active member of the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Pea ...

where from 1901 she edited ''

Kvinden & Samfundet ''Kvinden & Samfundet'' (''Woman & Society'') is a Danish feminist magazine and the official publication of the Danish Women's Society. It has been published since 1885. History The Danish Women's Society was founded in 1871 by Matilde Bajer ...

''.

Early life and family

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 1 August 1861, Vibeke Ingeborg Frisch was the daughter of the headmaster Hartvig Frisch (1833–90) and Elisabeth Alexandra Mourier (1835–92). She was the elder sister of the feminist Gyrithe Lemche (1866–1945). On 18 October 1884, she married the translator Gerhard Guise Salicath (1859–1937) with whom she had six children, most of whom died as children: Constance Frederikke (1885), Erik (1886–88), Viggo (1887–88), Peter (1891–98), and the twins Karen and Kirsten Emilie (1902), Karen being the only one to survive infancy. She was raised in a comfortable environment in

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site ...

where her family moved to Wilhelminelyst when she was still young. It was there she met Gerhard Salicath whom she married in 1884. The couple moved to more modest accommodation on Copenhagen's Vesterbro. After a series of family problems, she left her husband in 1903 but refused his request for a divorce.

Professional life

It was together with another single mother, the journalist Valborg Andersen, that Salicath founded the women's hostel Kvindeherberget in 1902, later known as Kvindehjemmet in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. Providing philanthropic services for unmarried mothers with children, the institution's innovative approach helped to change attitudes towards single women in unfortunate circumstances. In the 1890s, Salicath had become a member of the Women's Society, encouraging her sisters Gyrithe and Asta to join too. She was a board member of the organization's Copenhagen chapter from 1900, becoming vice-president in 1905. She became editor of ''

'' in 1901, but also contributed articles to other women's journals including , ''Frou-Frou'', and '' Hjemmet''. As an active player in the Danish women's movement,

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

became her primary concern, especially after she had participated in the 1904 Berlin Conference of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., wit ...

, where the

International Woman Suffrage Alliance The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

was launched. From 1907 to 1908, succeeding

Louise Nørlund Marie Sørine ''Louise'' Nørlund (1854–1919) was a Danish feminist and pacifist. She was the founder and chairman of the Danske Kvindeforeningers Valgretsforbund or DKV (the Danish Women's Society's Suffrage Union) in 1898–1907 and 1908–1 ...

, she headed the Women's Society's Suffrage Union. Representing the conservative party

Højre Højre (, ''Right'') was the name of two Danish political parties of Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The c ...

, she was one of the first seven women to be elected to the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks ...

() in 1909, where she took a particular interest in the Nærumgård children's home. In 1914, she co-founded the Danish Women's Conservative Association (). Vibeke Salicath died in Copenhagen on 22 April 1921. She is buried in Lyngby's Assistens Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salicath, Vibeke 1861 births 1921 deaths Danish feminists Danish editors Danish women editors 19th-century Danish women writers 20th-century Danish women writers Danish suffragists Danish women's rights activists 19th-century Danish people Copenhagen City Council members People from Kongens Lyngby