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SEX

Five things you maybe didn’t know about the sex lives of Swedes

Swedes value sex and most of them get enough of it. But what else does a new national study into the sex lives of Swedes reveal? Here are the key stats we just learned, and you may find some of them surprising.

Five things you maybe didn't know about the sex lives of Swedes
Sweden has asked its citizens about their sex lives. Photo: Isabell Höjman/TT

The Swedish Public Health Agency’s report on the current state of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Sweden revealed that nearly 80 percent of both men and women have had sex at least “a few times” during the past year, while 16 percent of women and 17 percent of men report having sex several times per week. 

While many news reports, including The Local’s, focused on the high rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault, the study took a broad look at the sex lives of Swedes, including their porn habits, willingness to pay for sex and contraceptive use. 

Here are a few key takeaways: 

Active and satisfying sex life

The vast majority of respondents said that sex is an important part of their lives and that they are satisfied with the amount of sex they get. Around a third of both men and women have sex at least a few times per month, while another third are even busier and say they have sex at least once a week. 

The most sexually-satisfied groups were women and men between the ages of 30 and 44, while those reporting the most dissatisfaction were young men aged 16 to 29 and both men and women aged 65 to 84.  

Sexual problems

Male survey respondents were more likely than their female counterparts to report that they are without a sex partner and also more likely to say they wish they had more sex partners. Swedish men also reported problems performing, with 18 percent saying they ejaculated prematurely and another 17 percent reporting that they have a problem maintaining an erection, a number that went up with age. 

One-fifth of Swedish women reported that they experienced a decreased interest in sexual desire, while one third of women said they occasionally lacked interest in sex. 

As a whole, women were more likely than men to report a lack of pleasure during sex and a lack of orgasms.

Photo: Staffan Löwstedt/SvD/TT

Women in control?

While the study showed that women and men largely agreed that they and their partner equally decided when and where to have sex, it was more common for men to report that their partner was in control, while more women than men said that they “often feel free to take sexual initiatives”.

The study also found that women were more likely than men to say that they feel comfortable saying no to sex. However, women were almost twice as likely than men to have sex when they did not really want to. 

“A majority of the population have good sexual health, which of course is a positive result. At the same time, sexuality and people’s sex lives differ, sometimes a lot, between women and men,” the report read.

“For example, women more often experience low sex drive because of fatigue and stress compared to men. There are strong norms in our society regarding sex and sexuality, and gender roles, norms regarding femininity and masculinity, and norms regarding heterosexuality affect to what extent people feel free to live their lives as they see best.”

Watching and paying for sex

While the report found that “many women and men of all ages use the internet for sex-related activities such as looking for information, reading sexually arousing texts, or looking for a partner”, there is a massive gender gap when it comes to online porn. 

Nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of men say they watch pornography, while nearly the same number of women (68 percent) say they never watch porn. Porn use is highest among young men, with 41 percent of respondents aged 16 to 29 saying that they consume pornography “on a daily basis or almost on a daily basis”. 

“Our results also show an association between frequent pornography consumption and poorer sexual health, and an association with transactional sex, too high expectations of one’s sexual performance, and dissatisfaction with one’s sex life,” the report said. 

The report also found that “to pay or in other ways reimburse someone in exchange for sex is mainly a male phenomenon”. While almost ten percent of men said they had paid for sex, either with money or gifts, the number for women was less than one percent. Of those Swedish men who paid for sex, 80 percent of them did it while on holiday abroad. Just one percent of men and 1.5 percent of women said they had received payment for sex, although those numbers were higher in the LGBT community. 

Condoms were the most common form of contraception used by women aged 16-44. Photo: Isabell Höjman/TT

Contraceptives and reproductive health

Just three percent of male and female respondents between the ages of 16 and 44 said they did not use any contraceptive method while in a sexual relationship. Condom use was the most common form of contraception among women aged 16 to 44, followed by birth control pills. 

A third of all women surveyed reported that they have had at least one abortion, a figure that the Public Health Agency said has remained largely stable since the 1970s. Around a third of all women have also suffered a miscarriage. 

While most respondents said they were happy with the number of children they have, around three percent reported that they are involuntarily childless. 

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POLITICS

EXPLAINED: What do proposed changes to Sweden’s rental laws mean for tenants?

What do the plans to change Swedish rental laws mean for residents, and could the row over the proposals really bring down the government? The Local explains.

EXPLAINED: What do proposed changes to Sweden's rental laws mean for tenants?
The proposals would only apply to newly built apartments. Photo: Ulf Grünbaum/Imagebank.sweden.se

What’s happening?

The Left Party threatened to topple the government over planned changes to the housing system in Sweden, which would introduce market rents for newbuilds. 

After the government did not respond to the Left’s ultimatum (which gave them 48 hours to either drop the proposals or go back to the drawing board and involve the Swedish Tenants’ Union in negotiations), the party said it would begin preparing a no-confidence motion.

The only snag was that the Left don’t have enough MPs to put such a motion forward. After they said they would not put the motion forward together with the far-right Sweden Democrats, the latter party — which does have the required number of MPs — said it would submit the motion on its own.

So that’s where we stand now, with the government said to face a vote of no confidence next week, unless the parties come to an agreement before then.

What are the rental laws up for debate?

Sweden currently has fairly strict regulations on renting.

One of the rules is that landlords may only charge a “reasonable rent” (skälig hyra) rather than choosing the price they set. This applies both to people who rent directly from property owners on a so-called first-hand contract, and to people who sublet apartments that they rent or own. In the latter case, they may charge a bit more than their own direct costs, but only to cover bills and services or any furniture included in the rental, and in the case of people who own the property, four percent may be added to cover the cost of capital.

What are market rents and how would the government’s plans work?

Market rents are the opposite system to what’s currently in place in Sweden: landlords would be free to choose the price they set based on the market; in other words, based on demand.

The government’s plan would only apply to newbuilds, so previously constructed apartments would not be affected.

One of the planned changes is that location would play a bigger part in setting the price, so that housing in popular areas would go up in price. Rent would also rise each year in line with inflation.

Early in June, the government presented the results from a review into market rents, which had the stated aim of creating “a model that contributes to a long-term well-functioning rental market and efficient utilisation of the current stock”.

Why are market rents on the table?

The proposal is part of the so-called January Agreement between the ruling Social Democrat-Green government and the Centre and Liberal parties. 

After the 2018 election left neither of Sweden’s traditional political blocs with a clear majority, the government was forced to negotiate with its former opposition, and gained “passive support” from the Centre and Liberal parties. This meant that while the latter two parties are not part of the government, they agreed not to vote against the government’s formation, but in exchange they asked for significant influence on policy, resulting in the 72-point deal.

One of the points was that market rents should be introduced for newly built properties.

What are the pros and cons of each system?

The reasoning behind the current system is that it is fairer and keeps housing affordable. But caps on rental prices have also meant fewer new rental properties get built, especially smaller homes, because these are less profitable for owners.

Together with a rising population, especially in Sweden’s larger cities, this has led to a major housing shortage. Queues for first-hand rental contracts are often a decade or more, which means many people, and particularly newer arrivals to the cities, end up on second-hand contracts. In theory, these should not be much more expensive, but the huge demand for housing means people do get over-charged, and other restrictions on subletting mean these contracts can typically not last more than a year or two, creating an insecure situation for second-hand subletters.

Market rents could stimulate the production of more housing, shortening housing queues, but critics such as the Left Party and the Swedish Tenants’ Union (Hyresgästföreningen) say it will make housing more unaffordable, worsen protections for renters, and increase housing segregation.

Another concern, which was even highlighted in the government’s press conference announcing the changes, is that the new system may incentivise landlords to terminate contracts with tenants if they can find someone who will pay more, thus creating more precarious housing situations. That would be possible because rent would be set individually between landlords and tenants. The government said that “complementary proposals” would be put forward to address the concerns with the market rents.

What are the next steps?

The government will now send its proposals out for consultation, which means feedback from affected organisations will be gathered. After that, a final version would be prepared, with the aim of putting the bill to parliament in early 2022. If passed, they would then enter law from July 1st, 2022.

But before that, the government looks likely to face a no-confidence motion next week, so it remains to be seen how the outcome of that affects the planned changes. 

How would a no-confidence motion work?

In order for the vote to go to parliament, it would need at least 35 members of parliament to sign it. The Sweden Democrats said they were willing to join forces with the Left Party (which only has 27 MPs) for a no-confidence vote, but the Left has rejected their help, so the Sweden Democrats said they would submit the motion themselves.

At the time of writing this update on Friday afternoon, a majority of parliamentarians have said they’d support the motion: not just the Sweden Democrats and Left Party, but also the conservative Moderates and Christian Democrats. The latter two parties actually back market rents, but don’t support the government.

If the no-confidence goes to parliament it would need at least 175 members of parliament to vote in favour. The support of those four parties would be enough to achieve that.

Hasn’t the Left threatened to topple the government before?

Yes. The Left party are traditionally allies of the governing centre-left Social Democrats, but they were not happy about the January Agreement and the influence it gave to the two centre-right parties.

Back when the current government was being formed, the Left’s then-leader Jonas Sjöstedt was clear about his party’s new status as “the left-wing opposition”, and said they would not hesitate to bring a no-confidence motion if Löfven went ahead with reforms on for example de-regulating the housing market or workers’ rights.

Last year, the Left Party threatened a no-confidence vote over planned changes to Swedish hiring and firing laws. Ultimately, that didn’t happen because the government renewed talks with unions over the laws, and got them on board with its proposals.

The Left is in a difficult position because it aligns much more closely with the government than with the centre-right parties, but the government has moved further to the right on some of the issues that are core priorities to the Left Party.

Tune in to The Local’s new podcast, Sweden in Focus, on Saturday, as we discuss this article in more detail.

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