Swedeish Hotties For you to enjoy and the article about Violence against women in Sweden

Swedeish Hotties For you to enjoy and the article about Violence against women in Sweden

The proposals described in this Fact Sheet are a summary of the Swedish government’s Bill on legislative provisions and other measures to counteract violence against women. The Bill was submitted to Parliament in February, 1998. A decision by Parliament is expected in May, 1998. The intention is for the proposed legislative changes to enter into force on 1 July 1998. The prohibition on the purchase of sexual services is however proposed to enter into force on 1 January 1999.

Sweden is by many regarded as a society in which there is a relatively high degree of equality between women and men.This goes, for instance, concerning women’s representation in Government (50 per cent), in Parliament (40 per cent), in County Councils (48 per cent) and in Municipalities (41 per cent). Swedish women also have a relatively high employment rate (70 per cent) and thereby good possibilities to support themselves. Both women and men have ample possibilities to combine employment with parental and household responsibilities.

In many areas, however, there is a considerable imbalance in the power relations between women and men. The most extreme example of such an imbalance is the occurrence of men’s violence against women. Despite several measures, particularly in recent years, thousands of women in Sweden are subjected to violence. Over the last decade, the number of reported assaults and various forms of sexual offences has increased markedly. Often, these offences are committed by a man who has a close relationship to the woman concerned (domestic violence).

Violence against women is therefore an obstacle to the ongoing development towards equality between women and men. Violence against women is also a serious social problem. To take action against this form of criminality is thus a task which has been declared by the government to be given priority in the criminal justice system.

The government’s Bill for action against violence against women, deals with a number of issues and entails three essential points of departure:

Legislation is to be further improved and made more rigorous
Further preventive measures are to be undertaken
Women victims are to be dealt with in better ways than hitherto

In total, the government is allocating SEK 41 million for 1998 for use on a variety of measures. The proposals mean that Sweden fulfils obligations arising from the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995. The government does however not exclude that further measures may be called for

New and more rigorous legislation

Gross violation of a woman’s integrity - a new offence

A new offence is to be introduced into the Penal Code. Its purpose is to deal with repeated punishable acts directed by men against women having a close relationship with the perpetrator (gross violation of a woman’s integrity), but also covers children and other closely related persons (gross violation of integrity).

In short, gross violation of a woman’s integrity, means the following. If a man commits certain criminal acts (assault, unlawful threat or coersion, sexual or other molestation, sexual exploitation, etc) against a woman to whom he is or has been married or with whom he is or has been cohabiting, he shall be sentenced for gross violation of the woman’s integrity, instead of for the crime that each of the acts comprise. A necessary condition for sentencing for the new offence is that the acts were part of a repeated violation of the woman’s integrity and were suited to seriously damage her self-confidence. The punishment is imprisonment for at least six months and at most six years.

Thereby, the new crime makes it possible for the courts to increase the penal value of the above mentioned acts, in situations where they are part of a process which constitutes a violation of integrity, which is often the case with domestic violence. It will thus also be possible, in a better way than with present legislation, to take the entire situation of the abused woman into account. The new crime does not exclude that the perpetrator simultaneously can be indicted for, for instance, aggravated assault or rape.

The crime gross violation of a person’s integrity can be used in situations equivalent to the ones above mentioned. However, under this crime falls repeated violations directed against children or other closely related persons (such as parents and siblings to the perpetrator). The punishment is the same.

Definition of rape to be widened

The provision of rape is widened so that sexual intercourse is to include other sexual acts, if having regard to the nature of the violation and other circumstances, the act in question is comparable to forced sexual intercourse. This means that certain acts which under present legislation are defined as sexual coercion, for example so-called fist-fucking, will therewith be considered as rape.

Neglecting to report certain sexual crimes to be made punishable

Under certain circumstances, neglecting to report or otherwise reveal gross sexual offences (rape, gross rape, gross sexual exploitation of a minor or gross procuring) will be made punishable.

Prohibition on the purchase of sexual services

Obtaining casual sexual services (prostitution) against payment is to be prohibited. The punishment for this offence is to be fines or imprisonment for up to six months. The attempted offence is also to be made punishable. The offence comprises all forms of sexual services, whether they are purchased on the street, in brothels, in so-called massage-institutes, etc.

This new prohibition marks Sweden’s attitude towards prostitution. Prostitution is not a desirable social phenomenon. The government considers, however, that it is not reasonable to punish the person who sells a sexual service. In the majority of cases at least, this person is a weaker partner who is exploited by those who want only to satisfy their sexual drives.

It is also important to motivate prostitutes to seek help to leave their way of life. They should not run the risk of punishment because they have been active as prostitutes.

By prohibiting the purchase of sexual services, prostitution and its damaging effects can be counteracted more effectively than hitherto. The government is however of the view that criminalisation can never be more than a supplementary element in the efforts to reduce prostitution and cannot be a substitute for broader social exertions.

The government estimates that the proposal will mean increased costs for the police of the order of SEK 10 million from the beginning of 1999 when the prohibition is to enter into force.

Social welfare legislation to be supplemented

The present social welfare legislation is to be supplemented by a new provision which will mean that local social welfare services must act to provide women, who are or have been exposed to violence or other abuse in the home, with help and support in order to change their situation.

The responsibility of the social services is made plain by this provision. In consequence, the competence and readiness of the social services to provide help and support to women who have been subject to such acts should be further developed.

The National Board of Health and Welfare is also required to draw up general guidelines for social work in the light of the new provision.

Increased punishment for genital mutilation

The term "genital mutilation" is to replace that of "circumcision" in the law. The serious nature of the offence means that fines are to be removed from the scale of punishment. The scale is also to be made more rigorous by making imprisonment for at most four years the punishment for the normal crime instead of the present two years. For the gross form of the crime the minimum punishment is to be two years, instead of one year as at present.

Preparation, conspiracy to commit the offence, together with neglecting to report or reveal genital mutilation is also to become punishable. Furthermore, the government has announced that an extension of the area of criminal responsibility to comprise also a person performing genital mutilation abroad, will be considered later.

Provisions on sexual harassment in working life to be made more rigorous

In Sweden, the Equal Opportunities Act contains provisions concerning equality between women and men in working life. This Act is made up of two parts. The first part consists of provisions which makes it incumbent upon an employer to take certain active measures in order to promote equality at the work place. The employer who does not comply, runs the risk of being ordered to do so under the penalty of a fine. The other part of the Act consists of several provisions prohibiting discrimination based on sex. The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman has the task of overseeing compliance with the Act and can also bring cases of discrimination to the Labour Court.

The government now proposes that the present rules concerning sexual harassment in the Act be strengthened. Firstly, a definition, as follows, is to be inserted into the Act:

By sexual harassment is meant unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature or other unwelcome behaviour based on sex, that violates the employee’s integrity at work.

The Act is also to be improved so that it becomes fully evident that every employer is obliged to take active measures to prevent and hinder an employee from being exposed to sexual harassment. The employer must make clear in a general staff policy statement that sexual harassment involving employees cannot in any way be tolerated. This policy must be made known to the employees. It is equally important that routines are devised for dealing with alleged or factual sexual harassment. The employer who does not fulfil his or her obligations run the risk of having to do so under the penalty of a fine.

Furthermore, an employer who receives information that an employee has been exposed to sexual harassment by another employee must investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged harassment. Where necessary, the employer must take such steps as can be reasonably required to prevent continued sexual harassment. An employer who fails to fulfil these obligations shall be liable to pay damages to an injured employee. Damages shall be payable for the violation which the neglect of required measures occasioned.

Already under the present Equal Opportunities Act, an employer may not subject an employee to harassment because the latter has rejected the employers sexual advances or lodged a complaint about the employer for sex discrimination. In cases where the employer is the one sexually harassing an employee, the rules in the Penal Code concerning molestation or sexual molestation are applicable.

A gender-neutral language in the Penal Code

In a number of the provisions on, inter alia, assault and sexual crimes of the Penal Code, the words he, his or him are used to refer to persons of both sexes. These words are to be modified in favour of expressions such as his or hers or similar. The government attaches importance to a gender neutral language as a whole in the Penal Code. Work on this question is started by overhauling the chapters referred to and continue as far as possible when the opportunity arises.