Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Swedish government orders investigation into rise in reported rapes

Sweden's government has ordered the country's National Council on Crime Prevention (Brå) to look into why the number of reported rapes in the country has increased.

Published: 9 January 2018 11:53 CET
Swedish government orders investigation into rise in reported rapes
File photo: Johan Nilsson / TT

The agency has the task of finding out whether the increase related to specific types of sexual offences, certain situations, or certain groups of perpetrators, though exactly how it measures these factors will be up to Brå.

The number of sexual offences reported to police in Sweden has risen steadily over recent decades.

In some cases, this could be due to the way in which sexual crimes are reported in Sweden or an increase in awareness about this kind of crime meaning more victims feel able to come forward.

However, it is unlikely that this is the full explanation for the rise, since the past four years have also seen an overall increase in exposure to sexual offences, according to the Swedish Crime Survey, also carried out by Brå. This report is based on survey answers rather than police reports, and aims to give a more complete picture of the victimization rate.

READ ALSO:

As The Local reported at the time, the 2017 survey published in November showed that the proportion of the population who had been victims of what is classed as 'crime against an individual' – assault, threats, mugging, fraud, harassment, or sexual assault – was at its highest level since records began in 2006.

The most significant rise was reported in instances of sexual offences, with the victimization rate for such crimes going from 0.8 to 2.4 percent between 2012 and 2016. That equates to around 181,000 people, an all-time high. Among women, the rate is even higher, at 4.1 percent.

In this survey, sexual offences covered a wide range of crimes from exhibitionism to assault.

At the time, Åsa Strid from Brå told The Local: “These results raise a number of questions about why so many more people are reporting that they have experienced sexual offences.”

The government has now called on Brå to estimate “to the greatest extent possible” how the victimization rate has developed.

This will include analysis of whether certain types of sexual crime are behind the rise, and whether the rise relates to a particular group of perpetrators. 

It is not clear whether this would include an investigation of the ethnicity of perpetrators of sexual crimes, something which Sweden’s Moderate Party has called for. 

Brå’s press secretary, Monica Landergård, told the TT news agency: “The assignment has just arrived, so we are working on it and will see who will carry out the work, so it’s much too early to say.”

READ ALSO: No, Sweden is NOT the 'rape capital' of the world

POLITICS

Over a thousand people join protest against Stockholm attack

Over a thousand people joined a demonstration in Gubbängen, southern Stockholm, on Saturday, protesting Wednesday's attack by far-right extremists on a lecture organised by the Left and Green parties.

Published: 27 April 2024 15:36 CEST
Over a thousand people join protest against Stockholm attack

The demonstration, which was organised by the Left Party and the Green Party together with Expo, an anti-extremist magazine, was held outside the Moment theatre, where masked assailants attacked a lecture organised by the two parties on Wednesday. 

In the attack, the assailants – described as Nazis by Expo – let off smoke grenades and assaulted several people, three of whom were hospitalised. 

“Let’s say it how it is: this was a terror attack and that is something we can never accept,” said Amanda Lind, who is expected to be voted in as the joint leader of the Green Party on Sunday. 

She said that those who had attended the lecture had hoped to swap ideas about how to combat racism. 

“Instead they had to experience smoke bombs, assault and were forced to think ‘have they got weapons’?. The goal of this attack was to use violence to generate fear and silence people,” she said.  

EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

More than a thousand people gathered to protest the attack on a theatre in Gubbängen, Stockholm. Photo: Oscar Olsson/TT

Nooshi Dadgostar, leader of the Left Party, said that that society needed to stand up against this type of extreme-right violence. 

“We’re here today to show that which should be obvious: we will not give up, we will stand up for ourselves, and we shall never be silenced by racist violence,” said said.

Sofia Zwahlen, one of the protesters at the demonstration, told the DN newspaper that it felt positive that so many had turned up to show their opposition to the attacks. 

“It feels extremely good that there’s been this reaction, that we are coming together. I’m always a little worried about going to this sort of demonstration. But this feels safe.”

SHOW COMMENTS