No abstract

After decades of debate and reforms on the rape legislation, a shift from a use of force-based into a consent-based rape offence (with voluntariness as the decisive criteria) entered into force in Sweden in July 2018. The aim of this article is to review and critically analyse Swedish statutory regulation of rape, starting in the historical development and debates as a backdrop. The authors take their starting point in critique put forward within the field of feminist legal studies and uses an everyday life perspective to examine some of the assessments made in the preparatory work in the decisions made on how to best protect the individual’s right to personal and sexual integrity and sexual self-determination. The analysis shows that a male rationale permeates the preparatory works and points at a need for further research on the criterion of voluntariness and its presumptions on autonomy.

No abstract

In this article I examine from a legal point of view some of the consequences for women, and hence for society in general, of online sexist and misogynist abuse in a Swedish context. I argue that one effect is that women’s living space online is demarcated and ultimately, that it threatens women’s possibilities to participate in public debate online. An everyday life perspective and the continuum of sexual violence, both part of a feminist legal perspective, are used as a  theoretical framework to show how online abuse is silencing women. The situation demands action from the state, in order to safeguard freedom of expression and, consequently, democracy. I argue that in this particular situation, two basic aspects of freedom of expression collide: the one most emphasised, the prohibition of censorship, and the less acknowledged aspect, i.e. a diversity of voices.  Deficient ways to handle sexist and misogynist online abuse leads to indirect censorship where women’s voices are silenced. Hence, the state must take action not to fail to guarantee justice for all. There are many initiatives addressing problems of online abuse, both internationally and nationally. In this article I seek to capture and examine the Swedish policy and legal regulation (criminal law and freedom of expression) in this area to sketch the legal situation, to highlight ongoing initiatives and pointing out lacunas and obstacles that needs to be dealt with to guarantee a diversity of voices.

Introdcution.