The Time Has Come To Talk A Little Bit About The Lenient Rape Convictions In Sweden - A Guest Post by Inga

The time has come to talk a little bit about the lenient rape convictions in Sweden.

Maybe, maybe, the time has come to talk a little bit about the lenient rape convictions in Sweden. To save face we have put out the big lie to the world that Sweden is very tough on sex criminals, almost like we have a no tolerance for sexual crimes. I guess it would be more truthful to say that we have a lot of tolerance when it comes to the perpetrators and that we always should feel sorry for them.  In some cases they are too young to understand the meaning of their actions. This happens when they are under the age of 21 and one other important factor to mention is whether the person is a first time offender or not. The more crimes a criminal collects, the harder punishment they get while at the same time they can actually commit a couple of crimes before they have to serve any time locked away. 

And there is not much said about the victims, almost never. Guess they will have to deal with their scars and shame alone.

I am sorry to say but the victims carry the burden of proof and that´s a tough task to put on someone’s shoulders who might have been violated for hours by one or several men.  I guess it is easy for a woman to forget how strong she is during an attack and that she should have used her muscles,  or?

It is pretty clear for all Swedes that have the gift of being able to read and that attended school, that rape or sex without consent is a big no-no. We all know about the legal age, when it is legally allowed to have sex with a minor.  But to a seventeen year old man this is nothing, as he knows that not much will happen to him anyhow, if he decides to have sex with a minor age girl. Now, we have come so far, that the court ruled sexual use of children when a seventeen year old man had consensual sex with a thirteen year old girl. The local newspaper did not even publish the sentence so to the best of my understanding, he got away with a little or a no jail time or perhaps a few hours of community service which is often the penalty.

I read another article in the editorial section in the local Metro.  One person asked the judge and the jury members to explain how 8 months in prison could be a fair sentence for a man that during one year violated, frightened and abused his then current girlfriend and finally forced her to hang herself “as a proof of her love” to her perpetrator.  How can our government even believe that we are as Swedes, trust in a legal system like this?

The crimes were so severe, with big variations, well planned into every small detail, that there should be no doubt that there might be a little sadist living inside his body.  At least that is how I feel and I think most often since this perpetrator had committed at least one other crime earlier together with his friends.

It is pretty amazing that these types of crimes – sexual violence and rape – almost always end up without any convictions.  It seems as if a speech including a big “No” would be enough.

There have been plenty of examples in the newspapers throughout the years and most people wonder why the courts are so unwilling to judge men that are using extreme violence on or against women. The only way we women can see it is that men seem to have a legal right to a woman's body.

There is a category of Swedish women and this has always been and will always be, women that invite men willingly to their homes and when the performance is not to their liking they just report them to the police.  It is a quick way to avoid their own problems, to save face or to get recognition.

Believe it or not but there are women in Sweden with working brain cells!, and we all know that inviting a man into our own homes and/or into our beds will come with a certain kind of risk. We know that we will have to eventually have to deal with the consequences of our actions.

So, the recipe for quick recognition unfolds in three steps:

1.                        Hunt a famous or rich person down and lure him into your bed.

2.                        Call the police a couple of days later with a good story.

3.                        Post part of your story on internet.

For further insight into how Sweden deals with sex offenders, please feel free to click on the links below:

http://mnhopkins.blogspot.se/2011/03/sleep-walking-rapist-acquitted-in.html

http://mnhopkins.blogspot.se/2012/05/rape-reality-check-sweden-fifty-year.html

http://mnhopkins.blogspot.se/2011/02/naomi-wolfs-blog-article-on-julian.html