EU FP6 Coordination Action on Human Rights Violations Sweden National Reports on Men’s Practices - Reports on Research, Statistical information, Law and Policy Addressing Men’s Practices Dag Balkmar and Keith Pringle Sweden National Reports on Men’s Practices - Reports on Research, Statistical information, Law and Policy Addressing Men’s Practices Published by: Centre for Gender Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden ISBN 91-87792-39-7 Copyright: the authors Order from: Centre for Gender Studies Stockholm University Phone: + 46 (0)8 16 22 22 Fax: + 46 (0)8 674 73 00 www.kvinfo.su.se Contact the authors at: [email protected] [email protected] 2 Introduction................................................................................................................... 5 Sweden National Report on Research on Men’s Practices .................................. 6 1. Key Points ........................................................................................................... 6 2. National Gender Background and Context ................................................ 7 3. Home and Work................................................................................................ 9 4. Social Exclusion ............................................................................................... 12 5. Violences.......................................................................................................... 15 6. Health ............................................................................................................... 19 7. Discussion ......................................................................................................... 21 8. Bibliography..................................................................................................... 23 Sweden National Report on Statistical information on Men’s Practices........... 39 1. Key Points ......................................................................................................... 39 2. National Background..................................................................................... 39 3. Home and Work.............................................................................................. 40 4. Social Exclusion ............................................................................................... 42 5. Violences.......................................................................................................... 45 6. Health ............................................................................................................... 50 7. Discussion ......................................................................................................... 52 8. Bibliography..................................................................................................... 54 Sweden National Report on Law and Policy Addressing Men’s Practices....... 61 1. Key Points ......................................................................................................... 61 2. National Legal, Policy and Political Background and context ............... 61 3. Home and Work.............................................................................................. 66 4. Social Exclusion ............................................................................................... 68 5. Violences.......................................................................................................... 71 6. Health ............................................................................................................... 75 7. Discussion ......................................................................................................... 76 8. Bibliography..................................................................................................... 77 3 4 Introduction This is a compilation of three reports that Keith Pringle co-ordinated this subnetwork survey – and re-interpret from feminist between 2004 and 1 April 2006. The perspectives - existing material on men’s Swedish reports are therefore an integral practices in terms of academic outputs, output from the work of the Co-ordination statistics and legal/governmental policies Action and from the sub-network within in Sweden. The period focused upon was it1. That sub-network specifically focuses primarily the last five to ten years. upon exploring the roots of violence and Although the main focus of the reports was consists of 11 European countries. It builds men’s violence, they also survey the on the previous work of the Framework 5- material on other areas of men’s lives such funded Thematic Network on men’s as home and work, social exclusion and practices in Europe which contained 10 health – and the connections between these European countries, ran from 2000 to 2003 areas and the field of men’s violence. and was also co-ordinated by Keith Pringle. Among the countries included in It is important to stress that the analysis that earlier network was Norway and underlying the reports was inspired not Finland – but not Sweden or Denmark. The only by feminist approaches but also, more earlier network had created national reports specifically, by a gender relational on its partners which were very similar to perspective. Current debates about so- the reports now produced on Sweden as called “intersectionality” also informed the well as Denmark. analysis in the reports – therefore much emphasis was placed on considering the way that gender impacted upon, and was All the reports from both the Framework 5 impacted upon by, other social divisions and Framework 6 networks are now placed associated with, for instance, age, on an open web-based European ethnicity, disability and sexuality. Documentation Centre which can be found at www.cromenet.org. This database The work was carried out in Sweden by allows all manner of exciting and Dag Balkmar at the Centre for Gender important explorations around the issue of Studies at Stockholm University; men’s practices in Europe – not least in the supervised by Keith Pringle who is based Nordic countries. We hope these Swedish in FoSo at Aalborg University Denmark. reports will themselves contribute in a very These Swedish reports need to be seen significant way to this process of within the context of a much broader exploration. project. For they were funded by the European Commission as part of the output Keith Pringle and Dag Balkmar from a sub-network within a large Mars 2006 Framework 6-funded Co-ordinated Action on Human Rights Violations (2004 – 2007): Project PL 506348 (see the Co-ordination Action web-site at 1 However, the Swedish reports published here of www.cahrv.uni-osnabrueck.de). course represent the views of the authors alone and are their sole responsibility. 5 EU FP6 Coordination Action on Human Rights Violations Sweden National Report on Research on Men’s Practices2 1. Key Points a. Since the late 1990s studies on men in Most literature on violence against women, Sweden have expanded broadly. Research children and sexualised violence are being on men from a critical perspective is produced within an either feminist, mainly connected to the gender equality women’s research or gender theoretical project. The field is grounded in a feminist context. Literature and research focusing research tradition. Men are mostly on children’s experiences and treatment of highlighted and looked upon as a problem crises where children have been exposed to and obstacle for gender equality. Areas of violence against the mother has become focus are fatherhood or men as family more focused in the late 1990’s and in the members, men in working life and beginning of the 2000. During the last homosocial behaviour, men & manliness, years so called “honour” related violence gay men. has gained some interest, mainly focusing on the victims and the meaning of culture. b. Research on social exclusion explores the labour market and marginalisation, d. Gender differences in health are to some residential segregation and diversity within extent highlighted but men are still the working life. Research where gender and norm in research on health. Connections ethnicity is an integrated perspective is between how men live their lives, lacking in Sweden; men are in focus in dominant constructions of masculinity and research on social exclusion but little is health are not given much attention. done on ethnicity and masculinity from a e. There is a need for critical research on gender perspective. Research around gay men’s practices in relation to health, age, men has been transformed from questions ethnicity, sexuality and disability. Critical around body and psyche to society, identity research needs to focus on the “normal” and descriptions of living conditions. In man and his everyday practices in relation recent years the marginalisation of lesbian to cultural concepts of manliness and and gay persons has been subjected to violence. some research. Research around homelessness and disability does often lack a gender and ethnicity perspective. c. Discussions of men and power in relation to women are made explicit in later research on men’s violence to women. 2 The work on this report was funded by the Framework 6- funded Co-Ordinated Action on Human Rights Violations (CAHVR - Project PL 506348) (Workpackage 8) 2. National Gender Background and Context a) Sweden has in 2004 reached a 1990s was dominated by economic and population of 9 million people, with about political problems which resulted in a