Compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence in Sweden: Some Empirical Findings from a Socio-Legal Perspective
(2022) RECOGNISING SEXUAL VIOLENCE. DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO SURVIVOR-CENTRED JUSTICE- Abstract
- Compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence in Sweden: Some Empirical Findings from a Socio-Legal Perspective
Karl Dahlstrand, PhD, lecturer at Sociology of Law Department, Lund University, Sweden.
The background of this study is my doctoral thesis in Sociology of Law “Violation and Satisfaction: A Sociology of Law Study of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Victims of Crime” (2012). After about ten years, I decided to make a replication based on the same method as in the original study presented in 2012. The general findings from the replication study are presented in the report “Violation and Satisfaction: Replication of a Socio-Legal Study“ (2022). Both studies include two surveys, one involving the public and the other... (More) - Compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence in Sweden: Some Empirical Findings from a Socio-Legal Perspective
Karl Dahlstrand, PhD, lecturer at Sociology of Law Department, Lund University, Sweden.
The background of this study is my doctoral thesis in Sociology of Law “Violation and Satisfaction: A Sociology of Law Study of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Victims of Crime” (2012). After about ten years, I decided to make a replication based on the same method as in the original study presented in 2012. The general findings from the replication study are presented in the report “Violation and Satisfaction: Replication of a Socio-Legal Study“ (2022). Both studies include two surveys, one involving the public and the other involving crime victims who had received compensation for criminal injuries from the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten). The study sample in the survey targeting the public consisted of self-recruited respondents from an online panel. The surveys consist of vignette questions selected from legal usage and questions about the victims’ experiences of the compensation. The legal rule about a victim’s right to compensation for the violation opens to different interpretations and several possible applications because of its vagueness. The study takes its starting point in how damages from criminal violations are determined. This type of non-pecuniary compensation to crime victims has a fundamental uncertainty regarding the computation of damages and what is meant by “violation” in the meaning of the law. There is also drift between the violation and the suffering, as to which the compensation is related. The violation dimension has a more “objective” connotation as a sanction in the sense of an attack on a protected interest within the rule of law. Whereas the suffering dimension focuses more on the “subjective”, individualized injury as the object of attack. According to the law, damages for violation should be set at a level reflecting the current social norms. Therefore, the compensation must be seen in relation to the context of criminal law, levels of punishment, the proportionality of the compensation in relation to the punishment and the crimes’ penal value.
When the results from the replication were analysed, an in-depth analysis was made based on gender and focusing on sexual offences. The result showed significant gender differences in terms of how the respondents estimated different sexual offences and how they perceived the compensation. The compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence has been criticized and debated for a long time from different perspectives. To develop pathways to survivor-centred justice, I think some of these empirical findings can be both theoretically interesting from a socio-legal perspective and of practical value. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- The background of this study is my doctoral thesis in Sociology of Law “Violation and Satisfaction: A Sociology of Law Study of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Victims of Crime” (2012). After about ten years, I decided to make a replication based on the same method as in the original study presented in 2012. The general findings from the replication study are presented in the report “Violation and Satisfaction: Replication of a Socio-Legal Study“ (2022). Both studies include two surveys, one involving the public and the other involving crime victims who had received compensation for criminal injuries from the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten). The study sample in the survey targeting the public... (More)
- The background of this study is my doctoral thesis in Sociology of Law “Violation and Satisfaction: A Sociology of Law Study of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Victims of Crime” (2012). After about ten years, I decided to make a replication based on the same method as in the original study presented in 2012. The general findings from the replication study are presented in the report “Violation and Satisfaction: Replication of a Socio-Legal Study“ (2022). Both studies include two surveys, one involving the public and the other involving crime victims who had received compensation for criminal injuries from the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten). The study sample in the survey targeting the public consisted of self-recruited respondents from an online panel. The surveys consist of vignette questions selected from legal usage and questions about the victims’ experiences of the compensation. The legal rule about a victim’s right to compensation for the violation opens to different interpretations and several possible applications because of its vagueness. The study takes its starting point in how damages from criminal violations are determined. This type of non-pecuniary compensation to crime victims has a fundamental uncertainty regarding the computation of damages and what is meant by “violation” in the meaning of the law. There is also drift between the violation and the suffering, as to which the compensation is related. The violation dimension has a more “objective” connotation as a sanction in the sense of an attack on a protected interest within the rule of law. Whereas the suffering dimension focuses more on the “subjective”, individualized injury as the object of attack. According to the law, damages for violation should be set at a level reflecting the current social norms. Therefore, the compensation must be seen in relation to the context of criminal law, levels of punishment, the proportionality of the compensation in relation to the punishment and the crimes’ penal value.
When the results from the replication were analysed, an in-depth analysis was made based on gender and focusing on sexual offences. The result showed significant gender differences in terms of how the respondents estimated different sexual offences and how they perceived the compensation. The compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence has been criticized and debated for a long time from different perspectives. To develop pathways to survivor-centred justice, I think some of these empirical findings can be both theoretically interesting from a socio-legal perspective and of practical value.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/b508ccf2-6a34-4e65-81d5-9a9c2c607a07
- author
- Dahlstrand, Karl LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Brottsofferersättning för sexualbrottsoffer i Sverige. Några empiriska fynd från ett rättssociologiskt perspektiv
- publishing date
- 2022-09-28
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Brottsskadeersättning, Compensation for Victims
- conference name
- RECOGNISING SEXUAL VIOLENCE. DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO SURVIVOR-CENTRED JUSTICE
- conference location
- Reykjavík, Iceland
- conference dates
- 2022-09-28 - 2022-09-28
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Dahlstrand, K. & Bergwall, P. (2022). Kränkning och upprättelse: En replikation av en rättssociologisk enkätstudie. Lund: Sociology of Law, Lund university. Bårnås, K., Dahlstrand, K & Knutsen, V. (2021) ”Voldsoffererstatningsordningen. Opplevd betydning av voldsoffererstatning blant mottakere”, Tidsskrift for erstatningsrett, forsikringsrett og trygderett, nr 1, s. 7–32. Dahlstrand, K. (2012). Kränkning och upprättelse: En rättssociologisk studie av kränkningsersättning till brottsoffer. Lund: Lunds universitet. All the data is available online at Swedish National Data Service (SND): https://snd.gu.se/en/catalogue/search/dahlstrand
- id
- b508ccf2-6a34-4e65-81d5-9a9c2c607a07
- date added to LUP
- 2022-09-28 16:03:05
- date last changed
- 2022-09-29 15:24:44
@misc{b508ccf2-6a34-4e65-81d5-9a9c2c607a07,
abstract = {{Compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence in Sweden: Some Empirical Findings from a Socio-Legal Perspective<br/><br/>Karl Dahlstrand, PhD, lecturer at Sociology of Law Department, Lund University, Sweden.<br/><br/>The background of this study is my doctoral thesis in Sociology of Law “Violation and Satisfaction: A Sociology of Law Study of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Victims of Crime” (2012). After about ten years, I decided to make a replication based on the same method as in the original study presented in 2012. The general findings from the replication study are presented in the report “Violation and Satisfaction: Replication of a Socio-Legal Study“ (2022). Both studies include two surveys, one involving the public and the other involving crime victims who had received compensation for criminal injuries from the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten). The study sample in the survey targeting the public consisted of self-recruited respondents from an online panel. The surveys consist of vignette questions selected from legal usage and questions about the victims’ experiences of the compensation. The legal rule about a victim’s right to compensation for the violation opens to different interpretations and several possible applications because of its vagueness. The study takes its starting point in how damages from criminal violations are determined. This type of non-pecuniary compensation to crime victims has a fundamental uncertainty regarding the computation of damages and what is meant by “violation” in the meaning of the law. There is also drift between the violation and the suffering, as to which the compensation is related. The violation dimension has a more “objective” connotation as a sanction in the sense of an attack on a protected interest within the rule of law. Whereas the suffering dimension focuses more on the “subjective”, individualized injury as the object of attack. According to the law, damages for violation should be set at a level reflecting the current social norms. Therefore, the compensation must be seen in relation to the context of criminal law, levels of punishment, the proportionality of the compensation in relation to the punishment and the crimes’ penal value.<br/><br/>When the results from the replication were analysed, an in-depth analysis was made based on gender and focusing on sexual offences. The result showed significant gender differences in terms of how the respondents estimated different sexual offences and how they perceived the compensation. The compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence has been criticized and debated for a long time from different perspectives. To develop pathways to survivor-centred justice, I think some of these empirical findings can be both theoretically interesting from a socio-legal perspective and of practical value.}},
author = {{Dahlstrand, Karl}},
keywords = {{Brottsskadeersättning; Compensation for Victims}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
title = {{Compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence in Sweden: Some Empirical Findings from a Socio-Legal Perspective}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/124689080/Developing_Pathways_to_Survivor_KD_.pdf}},
year = {{2022}},
}