Rape in the Nordic Countries
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“This edited collection constitutes a landmark in helping a wider audience appreciate the challenges in assuming a ‘Nordic exceptionalism’ when it comes to rape and sexual violence. The chapters in this book demonstrate the continu- ities and differences within Nordic countries and places elsewhere in the world in making sense of what counts as rape and sexual violence, how to count these experiences, and how to make sense of the perpetrators both ‘real’ and ‘digital’. It is a collection which is remarkable in its nuance and its wider contribution to the literature. No matter how much you might think you know about rape and sexual violence, you will definitely benefit from reading the excellent and thought provoking contributions found here.” – Sandra Walklate, Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology, University of Liverpool, UK, and Conjoint Chair of Criminology, Monash University, Australia “This is a truly exceptional volume on how to study, make sense of, and address rape and sexual harm. Focusing on the Nordic region, it provides rich new research on perpetration, victimization, criminal justice, and prevention. The chapters also develop theoretical frameworks that can and should be engaged well beyond this context. It is necessary reading for all those interested in the Nordic region, and to all those interested sexual assault, gender, and public policy.” – Shamus Khan, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Columbia University, USA Rape in the Nordic Countries While the Nordic countries are listed at the top in most international rankings of gender equality and citizens’ feelings of security, studies on the prevalence of sexual victimisation present a different picture, suggesting that the very countries that have invested much in establishing gender equality actually see a high preva- lence of sexual violence. This book sheds light on the phenomenon and construc- tion of rape and other forms of sexual violence within the Nordic region, exploring the ways in which rape and sexual violence are dealt with through criminal law and considering governmental policies aimed at combatting it, with a special focus on legal regulations and developments. Thematically organised, it offers new research on perpetrators, victimhood, criminal justice and prevention. Multi-disciplinary in approach, it brings together the latest work from a range of scholars to offer insights into the situation in the five Nordic countries, asking how and why rape and other forms of sexual violence occur, whilst also address- ing the timely issues of online sexual cultures, BDSM and the grey areas of sexual offences. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, criminology and law with interests in gender and sexual violence. Marie Bruvik Heinskou works as Commissioning Editor at Hans Reitzels Pub- lishing House and as external lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. She is former Associate Professor of Sociology at Aalborg University, Denmark, and has published on sexual violence and violence in leading international journals. May-Len Skilbrei is Professor at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo. She also holds a position at Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) at Oslo Metropolitan University. Her research interests are gender, sexuality, power and law and she has published books, articles and chap- ters internationally on how Nordic governments and civil society actors approach prostitution, human trafficking, child sexual abuse and sexual violence. Kari Stefansen works as a Research Professor at Norwegian Social Research, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway. In 2017–2018 she was affiliated with the Norwe- gian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS). Stefansen is the co-editor of Collaborating against Child Abuse: Exploring the Nordic Barnahus Model. Her current research focuses on youth and sexual violence. Routledge Research in Gender and Society 79 Contemporary Muslim Girlhoods in India A Study of Social Justice, Identity and Agency in Assam Saba Hussain 80 White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia The Good Ol’ Aussie Bloke Andrea Waling 81 Motherhood in Contemporary International Perspective Continuity and Change Edited by Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq 82 Gender Violence in Ecofeminist Perspective Intersections of Animal Oppression, Patriarchy and Domination of the Earth Gwen Hunnicutt 83 Reframing Drag Beyond Subversion and the Status Quo Kayte Stokoe 84 Rape in the Nordic Countries Continuity and Change Edited by Marie Bruvik Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen 85 Refracting through Technologies Bodies, Medical Technologies and Norms Ericka Johnson For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ sociology/series/SE0271 Rape in the Nordic Countries Continuity and Change Edited by Marie Bruvik Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 selection and editorial matter, Marie Bruvik Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Marie Bruvik Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis. com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Heinskou, Marie Bruvik, editor. | Skilbrei, May-Len, editor. | Stefansen, Kari, 1971- editor. Title: Rape in the Nordic countries : continuity and change / edited by Marie Bruvik Heinskou, May-Len Skilbrei and Kari Stefansen. Description: Abingdon, Oxon : New York, NY Routledge, 2020. | Series: Routledge research in gender and society | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019027110 (print) | LCCN 2019027111 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138606517 (hbk) | ISBN 9780429467608 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: Rape–Scandinavia. | Sex crimes–Scandinavia. Classification: LCC HV6569.S44 R37 2020 (print) | LCC HV6569.S44 (ebook) | DDC 364.15/320948–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019027110 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019027111 ISBN: 978-1-138-60651-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-46760-8 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Contents List of illustrations ix List of contributors x Preface xv 1 A Nordic research agenda on rape and sexual violence 1 MAY-LEN SKILBREI, KARI STEFANSEN AND MARIE BRUVIK HEINSKOU 2 Theorising sexual violence in intimate relations in Scandinavia: A literature review 18 MARGUNN BJØRNHOLT 3 Cultivating ethical negotiations or fetishising consent in BDSM? 33 MONIKA GRØNLI ROSTEN 4 Understanding unwanted sexual touching: A situational approach 49 KARI STEFANSEN 5 Making the case for ‘good enough’ rape-prevalence estimates: Insights from a school-based survey experiment among Norwegian youths 66 KARI STEFANSEN, METTE LØVGREN AND LARS ROAR FRØYLAND 6 From the protection of marriage to the defence of equality: The Finnish debate over the sexual autonomy of wives 83 RIIKKA KOTANEN 7 Towards voluntariness in Swedish rape law: Hyper-medialised group rape cases and the shift in the legal discourse 101 GABRIELLA NILSSON 8 Rape law and coercive circumstances 120 HELENA JOKILA AND JOHANNA NIEMI viii Contents 9 Empowered or protected? The ‘problem’ of complainants’ rights in Danish and Norwegian preparatory works on criminal procedure 137 HILDUR FJÓLA ANTONSDÓTTIR 10 Othering the rapist: Rurality, sexual violence and the Bjästa case 155 LUCAS GOTTZÉN AND ANNA G. FRANZÉN 11 Sexual transgressing: Situational and narrative perspectives 171 LAURA MARIE SCHIERFF AND MARIE BRUVIK HEINSKOU 12 Rape in the age of the Internet 189 ELISABETH FRANSSON, TROND MARTINSEN AND ELISABETH STAKSRUD 13 Digital sexual violence: Image-based sexual abuse among Danish youth 205 SIDSEL KIRSTINE HARDER, KATHRINE ELMOSE JØRGENSEN, JONATHAN PRIESHOLM GÅRDSHUS AND JAKOB DEMANT 14 Breaking the silence: Social media disclosures of sexual violence in Iceland 224 RANNVEIG SIGURVINSDÓTTIR, BRYNDÍS BJÖRK ÁSGEIRSDÓTTIR AND SARA ARNALDS Index 241 Illustrations Figures 13.1 Model showing the relation between independent, dependent, background and mediating variables 209 13.2 The predicted probabilities for offending dependent on self-control, based on regression estimates of the full model 216 14.1 Number of self-disclosure posts of sexual violence over time 231 Tables 5.1 All items. Prevalence of positive responses. By gender. Frequency and percent 73 5.2 Three measures of rape. Boys and girls. Between-group mean comparison. t-Test 74 5.3 Rape measures and socio-economic characteristics. Girls. Between-group mean comparison. t-Test 75 13.1 Summary statistics of all variables included in the models 211 13.2 Pairwise correlation coefficients of all the variables included in the study 213 13.3 Regression table