9 Chapter 9 Law Changes in Sweden Produce Weak Improvement in Sexual Violence

Sweden is a country that has struggled with rape convictions being way lower than it should be. There have been links to foreigners being the main contributors; however, the main problem is that there has been too much sexual violence in Sweden and not enough convictions within the country. When looking at Sun Storm, Rebecka is one that struggled with power previously, for example, in her struggle with the pastor, which resulted in her having a baby. It was a position that left her powerless that led to a baby and put an enormous toll on Rebecka. She was blamed for the situation, which is too often the case in Sweden. In Sweden, as reflected in Sun Storm, sexual violence has been blamed on the women, and even when these criminals do get caught, there is only a six percent conviction rate, which is extremely low. Actions regarding sexual violence need to be penalized accordingly, and steps need to keep increasing to protect women and making sure these criminals are charged.

Sweden recently changed its laws, “In 2018, Sweden adopted a new consent-based law on sexual crimes, making sex without consent a criminal offense as well as introducing the new offense of ‘negligent rape’.” (Amnesty) The article talks about how it is still too early to understand the impact of these changes. The hope being that with more possible charges in place that it will change the mindset in these criminals. However, most of the problems are with how the police force handles reports and how they do not prioritize sexual offenses. There are often delays, and most of the time the police won’t even interview suspects. This is what all adds up to only have six percent of cases result in prosecution. One rape survivor in the Amnesty article quoted, “If they had done it properly from the start, I would have had justice today. All those hopes for justice and redress, and in the end – nothing. It was just another police report.” One in ten people in Sweden still agrees that gender-based violence against women is often provoked by the victim herself. This shows the massive extent of how much improvement there still is to be done within the country, and action needs to be taken. For example, in Rebecka’s situation in the novel, she stated, “Then everything happens so quickly. His tongue is inside her mouth. His fingers are tangled in her hair.” Quickly turns into him saying “Please go…just go” (Sun Stormpg. 158-159). After the situation was over, Rebecka was blamed for the encounter, and churchgoers thought Rebecka was evil for not keeping the baby. Meanwhile, the priest did not receive or accept any blame for the encounter, which just shows how incorrect the gender norms are in Sweden. Part of being a survivor is knowing the one who hurt you and committed the crime is being penalized. One rape survivor stated, “It’s part of the healing. You feel: At last! At last, they believe you, the system believes you…I think I am one of the few who got justice. I do have hopes, though, and the experience I had is what I want for everyone else.” (Amnesty) This does show that there does seem to be little hope rising because awareness has been, however, these rises are yet to be seen in society.

Although the law change was put into place just over a year ago, full statistics are hard to come by; however, its impact has already been seen on several occasions. The law change meant that participants needed to demonstrate that they wanted to engage in sexual activity for it to be considered consensual. Also, two new offenses of “negligent rape” and “negligent sexual abuse” were created for acts where courts found that consent had not been established, but in which the perpetrator had not intended to commit rape or assault. The new changes faced a lot of backlash in Swedish society and criticized it as “signalpolitik”, which means it was implemented for just a look and not to make an actual impact. However, it has already done way more than one could have projected. The article mentioned that out of a sample of 60 rape cases, the new law was crucial in seven, including six convictions of negligent rape. A study from the Siren news agency reached the same conclusion, finding that in 84 cases where prosecutors mentioned “negligent rape,” 45 resulted in a rape conviction while six were sentenced for negligent rape. Also, there have been many precedents set in what is consent; for example, the court ruled, “Sleeping in the same bed and wearing only underwear does not mean consent” (The Local). These are just examples of actual changes being made in Sweden, these changes are with small sample size, however, the hope is that these rulings can have a trickle-down effect into Swedish society and make an impact in the near future.

Many in Sweden mentioned this law change was “signalpolitik” and to their point, actions in the court have improved, but the main problem has been that rape offenders are not even getting to that point. The conduct on the streets as well as by police has remained close to unchanged. Still in 2019, “Sweden has the highest incidence of reported rapes in Europe but the lowest conviction rate, and worsening levels of violence against women, despite its good reputation for gender equality.” (GreenNet) The number of rapes has quadrupled in the last 20 years, and conviction rates have steadily decreased. One repeating theme is that sexual violence is, “deeply rooted patriarchal norms of family life and sexual relationships are a major societal flaw and a reason for the continued prevalence of violence against women in Sweden.” This is something that Sweden is yet to make an impact in. This is where the most significant impact needs to be made. However, Sweden, as well as many other countries, do not know how to make an impact on changing this directly.

For Sweden to work on changing the cultural “norms”, more awareness is going to have to be continually raised regarding sexual violence. It is not going to be an easy fix as, in most cases, the hope is that the next generation is raised with different standards than the one prior. However, Sweden is slowly making an impact it seems with the steps they are striving to make. Everywhere around the globe can take more action in addressing sexual violence because it is a problem everywhere and one that should have been addressed earlier than it has. More effort needs to be taken, and I believe that the recent law changes will be a start in integrating that rape and sexual violence is unacceptable, but more will need to be done in the near future to continue to make a positive difference in the country.

Works Cited

Delargy, Marlaine. Sun Storm. New York, New York, Bantam Dell, 2007, pp. 1-310.

“’Negligent Rape’: Has Sweden’s Sexual Consent Law Led to Change?” The Local, 12 July 2019, www.thelocal.se/20190712/negligent-rape-has-swedens-sexual-consent-law-led-to-change.

“Nordic Countries Do Not Define Rape on the Basis of Lack of Consent.” Nordic Countries: Survivors of Rape Unite to End Impunity for Rapists and Break Barriers to Justice | Amnesty International, 3 Apr. 2019, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/04/rape-and-sexual-violence-in-nordic-countries-consent-laws/.

“Sweden Has Worst Rape Conviction Record in Europe.” GreenNet, 29 Apr. 2016, www.greennet.org.uk/network/news/sweden-has-worst-rape-conviction-record-europe.