Swedish courts struggle to apply consent law in child rape cases
A new study of Swedish court decisions reveals judges apply conflicting standards when determining consent in sexual assault cases involving teenagers, sometimes treating 13- and 14-year-old victims as responsible for communicating non-consent. The findings suggest courts haven't properly adapted to Sweden's 2018 consent-based law, creating unpredictable outcomes that may undermine victim protection.
Originaltitel: Voluntariness on trial: Youth, romantic relationships, and child rape judgments in Sweden
This article explores constructions of voluntariness in Swedish district court judgments in child rape cases involving young people in romantic relationships. Drawing on youth research and feminist legal theory, we conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of 38 judgments involving complainants aged 13–14 and defendants aged 15–20. Our analysis resulted in three themes. First, voluntariness was constructed as vulnerability, where the ability to consent was related to the broader context of pressure or a violent relationship. Young girls exposed to violence were recognized as vulnerable subjects. Second, voluntariness was constructed as a matter of choice, where the court’s emphasis on external expressions of voluntariness positioned 13- and 14-year-old girls as responsible for communicating non-consent and interrupting unwanted sexual situations. Third, voluntariness was constructed as existing along a continuum, making it a matter of degree, rather than an either/or issue. Our results further show that although Sweden’s 2018 consent-based law was not intended to guide assessments of voluntariness in child rape cases, the courts nonetheless appear to be influenced by this reform. The results also highlight the importance of adopting a youth perspective and remaining attentive to the specific intersection of youth, vulnerability and consent within the legal system.