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Det straffar sig - Fast mindre om mamma dödar dig. - En kritisk analys av barnadråpsbrottet.

Wilderoth, Sandra LU (2017) LAGF03 20172
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Om en moder uppsåtligen dödar sitt barn vid födseln eller under vissa förutsättningar efteråt, döms hon för brottet barnadråp. Det innebär att hennes gärning får ett lägre straff än vad som annars blivit fallet vid uppsåtligt dödande. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka bakgrunden till införandet av bestämmelsen om barnadråp och kritiskt analysera om denna särreglering är nödvändig i gällande rätt.

Att en förälder dödade sitt barn var straffbart redan på medeltiden. Vid mitten av 1600-talet tillkom dock en ny brottstyp rubricerat barnamord, varmed avsågs att en moder dödade sitt utomäktenskapliga barn vid födseln. Att detta brott uppstod har förklarats med dåtidens samhällssyn på ogifta mödrar. Brottet barnamord fanns kvar i... (More)
Om en moder uppsåtligen dödar sitt barn vid födseln eller under vissa förutsättningar efteråt, döms hon för brottet barnadråp. Det innebär att hennes gärning får ett lägre straff än vad som annars blivit fallet vid uppsåtligt dödande. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka bakgrunden till införandet av bestämmelsen om barnadråp och kritiskt analysera om denna särreglering är nödvändig i gällande rätt.

Att en förälder dödade sitt barn var straffbart redan på medeltiden. Vid mitten av 1600-talet tillkom dock en ny brottstyp rubricerat barnamord, varmed avsågs att en moder dödade sitt utomäktenskapliga barn vid födseln. Att detta brott uppstod har förklarats med dåtidens samhällssyn på ogifta mödrar. Brottet barnamord fanns kvar i svensk rätt fram till år 1965, när brottsbalken infördes. Den tillsatta lagkommittén konstaterade att synen på ogifta mödrar hade ändrats men en särregel för mödrar som dödat sina spädbarn behölls, bland annat med hänvisning till tradition.

Barnadråp har ingen hög förekomst i praxis och sedan år 1995 har endast sex kvinnor dömts för brottet, varav fyra kvinnor har överlämnats till rättspsykiatrisk vård. I de två resterande fallen blev påföljden fängelse och i respektive fall bestämdes längden till tre år. Domstolarnas resonemang om hur de bedömde straffvärdet i dessa mål är knapphändigt men frånvaron av barnets perspektiv kan ifrågasättas.

Under senare år har bestämmelsen om barnadråp blivit föremål för kritik och i doktrin har anförts att regeln både är otidsenlig och överflödig. Bland annat har anförts att en nybliven moders tillstånd kan beaktas vid reglerna om påföljd, om hennes gärning istället bedömts som ett dråp eller mord. Mot detta har invänts att bestämmelsen om barnadråp ger större möjlighet att ta hänsyn till en nybliven moders psykiska tillstånd. Vad som framförallt är anmärkningsvärt med brottet barnadråp är emellertid den totala frånvaron av en intresseavvägning. Bestämmelsens konstruktion medför nämligen att moderskapet har förutbestämts vara ett mot barnets liv överordnat intresse. (Less)
Abstract
If a mother deliberately kills her child at birth or under certain conditions afterwards, she is convicted of the crime infanticide. This means that her deed will be punished with a lower penalty than otherwise in cases of intentional killing. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the background to pass the crime infanticide in law and critically analyze whether this special regulation is necessary in law.

A parent killing its own child was punishable already in the Middle Ages. By the middle of the 17th century, however, a new crime was introduced named infanticide, meaning that a mother killed her extramarital child at birth. The fact that this crime occurred has been explained by the social perception of unmarried mothers, in... (More)
If a mother deliberately kills her child at birth or under certain conditions afterwards, she is convicted of the crime infanticide. This means that her deed will be punished with a lower penalty than otherwise in cases of intentional killing. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the background to pass the crime infanticide in law and critically analyze whether this special regulation is necessary in law.

A parent killing its own child was punishable already in the Middle Ages. By the middle of the 17th century, however, a new crime was introduced named infanticide, meaning that a mother killed her extramarital child at birth. The fact that this crime occurred has been explained by the social perception of unmarried mothers, in the past. The crime of infanticide remained in Swedish law until 1965 when the Penal Code was passed in law. The appointed law committee noted that the view of unmarried mothers had changed, but a special rule for mothers who killed their infants was retained, inter alia, with reference to tradition.

Infanticide has no high incidence in cases and since 1995, only six women have been convicted of the crime, four of whom have been handed over to forensic psychiatric care. In the two remaining cases, the sentence was prison and in each case the length was determined to be three years. The courts' reasoning on how they assessed the penalty value in these cases is meagre but the absence of the child's perspective can be questioned.

In recent years, the crime infanticide has been criticized and in the doctrine, it has been stated that the rule is both outdated and superfluous. Among other things, it has been argued that the condition of a mother can be considered in the rules of sanctions, if her act instead was regarded as a manslaughter or a murder. Against this, it has been argued that the crime infanticide is more likely to consider the mental state of a mother. What is particularly remarkable with the crime infanticide, however, is the total absence of a balance of interest. The construction of the provision implies that the motherhood has been predetermined to be a superior interest to the child's life. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wilderoth, Sandra LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20172
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
rättshistoria, rättssociologi, straffrätt, barnadråp, barnamord
language
Swedish
id
8929473
date added to LUP
2018-02-06 12:04:40
date last changed
2018-02-06 12:04:40
@misc{8929473,
  abstract     = {{If a mother deliberately kills her child at birth or under certain conditions afterwards, she is convicted of the crime infanticide. This means that her deed will be punished with a lower penalty than otherwise in cases of intentional killing. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the background to pass the crime infanticide in law and critically analyze whether this special regulation is necessary in law. 

A parent killing its own child was punishable already in the Middle Ages. By the middle of the 17th century, however, a new crime was introduced named infanticide, meaning that a mother killed her extramarital child at birth. The fact that this crime occurred has been explained by the social perception of unmarried mothers, in the past. The crime of infanticide remained in Swedish law until 1965 when the Penal Code was passed in law. The appointed law committee noted that the view of unmarried mothers had changed, but a special rule for mothers who killed their infants was retained, inter alia, with reference to tradition.

Infanticide has no high incidence in cases and since 1995, only six women have been convicted of the crime, four of whom have been handed over to forensic psychiatric care. In the two remaining cases, the sentence was prison and in each case the length was determined to be three years. The courts' reasoning on how they assessed the penalty value in these cases is meagre but the absence of the child's perspective can be questioned.

In recent years, the crime infanticide has been criticized and in the doctrine, it has been stated that the rule is both outdated and superfluous. Among other things, it has been argued that the condition of a mother can be considered in the rules of sanctions, if her act instead was regarded as a manslaughter or a murder. Against this, it has been argued that the crime infanticide is more likely to consider the mental state of a mother. What is particularly remarkable with the crime infanticide, however, is the total absence of a balance of interest. The construction of the provision implies that the motherhood has been predetermined to be a superior interest to the child's life.}},
  author       = {{Wilderoth, Sandra}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Det straffar sig - Fast mindre om mamma dödar dig. - En kritisk analys av barnadråpsbrottet.}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}