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Samtycke eller icke samtycke - En rättsutredning av samtyckesreglerings påverkarna på bevisvärdering i våldtäktsmål

Arnsteg, Anna LU (2017) LAGF03 20171
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Uppsatsens övergripande syfte är att utifrån 2014 år sexualbrottskommitténs förslag utreda eventuella konsekvenser av en samtyckesreglering i våldtäktslagstiftningen, ur ett bevisrättsligt perspektiv.

En våldtäkt kan se ut på flera sätt, den gemensamma nämnaren är att handlingen anses utgöra en gränslös kränkning av den sexuella integriteten och självbestämmanderätten. Dagens lagstiftning har fått stark kritik för att det saknas skydd och lagen anses vara otillräcklig. Våldtäktsbrottet regleras idag i 6 kap. 1 §BrB. Brottet består i att en person med våld eller hot tvingar en annan person till en sexuell handling som är jämförbar med samlag. Lagregeln gäller även för situationer när en person otillbörligt utnyttjar en person som... (More)
Uppsatsens övergripande syfte är att utifrån 2014 år sexualbrottskommitténs förslag utreda eventuella konsekvenser av en samtyckesreglering i våldtäktslagstiftningen, ur ett bevisrättsligt perspektiv.

En våldtäkt kan se ut på flera sätt, den gemensamma nämnaren är att handlingen anses utgöra en gränslös kränkning av den sexuella integriteten och självbestämmanderätten. Dagens lagstiftning har fått stark kritik för att det saknas skydd och lagen anses vara otillräcklig. Våldtäktsbrottet regleras idag i 6 kap. 1 §BrB. Brottet består i att en person med våld eller hot tvingar en annan person till en sexuell handling som är jämförbar med samlag. Lagregeln gäller även för situationer när en person otillbörligt utnyttjar en person som befinner sig i en särskilt utsatt situation.

I oktober 2016 presenterade 2014 år sexualbrottskommitté sin utredning SOU 2016:60. Utredningen innehåller förslag att införa en samtyckesreglering, kriminalisering av vissa sexualbrott vid grov oaktsamhet.. Samtyckesregleringen innebär en kriminalisering av sexuella handlingar som genomförs vid bristande frivillighet. Föreligger det frivillighet till den sexuella handlingen ska detta kommuniceras genom ord eller ett aktivt deltagande. Krav på våld, tvång och särskild utsatt situation som är avgörande för straffansvar enligt 6 kap. 1 § BrB plockas bort. Istället kommer dessa rekvisit att utgöra faktorer som tyder på bristande frivillighet. Förslaget kommer troligtvis inte att innebär en stor materiell förändring om man jämför sexualbrotten generellt

Det svåra bevisläget i våldtäktsmål beror delvis på avsaknaden av objektiv bevisning och att ord står mot ord angående händelseförloppet mellan målsägande och den tilltalande. Detta resulterar i att domstolens bevisvärdering begränsas till en trovärdighets- och tillförlitlighetsbedömning av parternas utsagor. Den nuvarande våldtäktsbestämmelsens utformning kräver att den tilltalade har haft uppsåt till rekvisiten våld, tvång eller hot för att straffansvar ska kunna utdömas. Det är vanligt att domstolen finner att de subjektiva rekvisiten inte är styrkta även då domstolen rent objektivt kan fastslå att en våldtäkt har genomförts. Detta resulterar i att åtalet ogillas på den grund att åklagaren inte lyckats styrka uppsåt till att handlingen har tvingats fram med våld eller hot.

Förhoppningen är att samtyckesregleringen får en normativ påverkan på samhället som i slutändan leder till en minskning av sexualbrotten och att antalet åtal ska ökar genom kriminaliseringen vid grov oaktsamhet. Fall som tidigare har setts som hopplösa fall på grund av bristande bevisning av de subjektiva bevisen, som resulterar i att beviskravet ”ställt utom rimligt tvivel” inte anses uppfyllt. Förväntningen är att den här typen av fall ska täckas av oaktsamhetsreglering.

Vilka konsekvenser en samtyckesreglering skulle kunna resultera i vid bevisvärdering går endast att spekulera om i det här skedet. Lagregelns genomslag kommer troligen att till störst del styras av domstolens tillämpning. (Less)
Abstract
The main purpose of this essay is to examine, from the Sexual Offences Commissions proposal, the possible consequences of a regulation based on consent and how it will affect assessment of evidence.
A rape can occur in a variety of ways, what they have in common is to be considered a boundless violation of a person’s sexual integrity and self-determination. Today’s legislation has received strong criticism for lack of protection and the law is considered insufficient. The rape crime is regulated in chapter 6 § 1 in the Swedish criminal code. The offense is that a person with violence or threat forces another person into a sexual act, which is comparable to sexual intercourse. The law also applies to situations when a person improperly... (More)
The main purpose of this essay is to examine, from the Sexual Offences Commissions proposal, the possible consequences of a regulation based on consent and how it will affect assessment of evidence.
A rape can occur in a variety of ways, what they have in common is to be considered a boundless violation of a person’s sexual integrity and self-determination. Today’s legislation has received strong criticism for lack of protection and the law is considered insufficient. The rape crime is regulated in chapter 6 § 1 in the Swedish criminal code. The offense is that a person with violence or threat forces another person into a sexual act, which is comparable to sexual intercourse. The law also applies to situations when a person improperly utilizes a person who is in a particularly vulnerable situation.

In October 2016, the Sexual Offences Commission of 2014 presented its investigation in the report ”A higher level of protection for the sexual integrity”. There is a proposal to criminalize all sexual acts that is preformed in lack of free will and to criminalize certain sexual offenses in gross negligence. The proposal will probably not involve a major material change, compared to the sexual offenses in general. The consent-based law involves the criminalization of sexual acts carried out in the absence of a persons free will/consent. If there is free will/consent to the sexual act, it shall be communicated through words or as a active participation. The criterions “violence”, “coercion” and “a specially exposed situation”, which are crucial for criminal liability under chapter 6 § 1 of the Swedish criminal code, are removed as criterions in the proposal of a consent-based legislation. Instead, these criterions will constitute factors for the lack of free will/consent.

The challenge of proving that rape has occurred depends partly on the lack of objective proof and word-to-word situations concerning the course of action between plaintiff and the accused. This results in that the Court's assessment of evidence is limited to a credibility and reliability assessment of the parties statements. In order for criminal liability for rape to be enforced, the formulation of the current/present rape crime requires that the accused has had intent to the criterion “coercion”. It is common for the court to find that the subjective criterions are not substantiated even when the court, on pure objective grounds, can determine that a rape has been carried out. This results in the dismissal of the prosecution on the grounds that the prosecutor did not succeed in proving intent in relation to that the sexual act was carried out by force or by threat.
The hope is that a consent-based legislation will have a normative impact on the society which ultimately leads to a reduction in sexual offenses and that the number of prosecutions would increase through criminalization in the event of gross negligence. Cases that have previously been seen as hopeless due to the lack of proving subjective evidence, which results in the requirement “beyond reasonable doubt" being deemed not to be met. The expectation is that this type of cases will be covered by a negligence regulation.

At this stage one can only speculate in the consequences of a consent-based legislation in the field of evaluating evidence. The impact of the legislation is likely to be governed by the Court's application of the law. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Arnsteg, Anna LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20171
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
sexualbrottslagstiftning, våldtäktsbrott, samtyckesreglering, frivilligt deltagande, bevisvärdering
language
Swedish
id
8908374
date added to LUP
2017-06-30 12:58:06
date last changed
2017-06-30 12:58:06
@misc{8908374,
  abstract     = {{The main purpose of this essay is to examine, from the Sexual Offences Commissions proposal, the possible consequences of a regulation based on consent and how it will affect assessment of evidence. 
A rape can occur in a variety of ways, what they have in common is to be considered a boundless violation of a person’s sexual integrity and self-determination. Today’s legislation has received strong criticism for lack of protection and the law is considered insufficient. The rape crime is regulated in chapter 6 § 1 in the Swedish criminal code. The offense is that a person with violence or threat forces another person into a sexual act, which is comparable to sexual intercourse. The law also applies to situations when a person improperly utilizes a person who is in a particularly vulnerable situation.
 
In October 2016, the Sexual Offences Commission of 2014 presented its investigation in the report ”A higher level of protection for the sexual integrity”. There is a proposal to criminalize all sexual acts that is preformed in lack of free will and to criminalize certain sexual offenses in gross negligence. The proposal will probably not involve a major material change, compared to the sexual offenses in general. The consent-based law involves the criminalization of sexual acts carried out in the absence of a persons free will/consent. If there is free will/consent to the sexual act, it shall be communicated through words or as a active participation. The criterions “violence”, “coercion” and “a specially exposed situation”, which are crucial for criminal liability under chapter 6 § 1 of the Swedish criminal code, are removed as criterions in the proposal of a consent-based legislation. Instead, these criterions will constitute factors for the lack of free will/consent.
 
The challenge of proving that rape has occurred depends partly on the lack of objective proof and word-to-word situations concerning the course of action between plaintiff and the accused. This results in that the Court's assessment of evidence is limited to a credibility and reliability assessment of the parties statements. In order for criminal liability for rape to be enforced, the formulation of the current/present rape crime requires that the accused has had intent to the criterion “coercion”. It is common for the court to find that the subjective criterions are not substantiated even when the court, on pure objective grounds, can determine that a rape has been carried out. This results in the dismissal of the prosecution on the grounds that the prosecutor did not succeed in proving intent in relation to that the sexual act was carried out by force or by threat. 
The hope is that a consent-based legislation will have a normative impact on the society which ultimately leads to a reduction in sexual offenses and that the number of prosecutions would increase through criminalization in the event of gross negligence. Cases that have previously been seen as hopeless due to the lack of proving subjective evidence, which results in the requirement “beyond reasonable doubt" being deemed not to be met. The expectation is that this type of cases will be covered by a negligence regulation.
 
At this stage one can only speculate in the consequences of a consent-based legislation in the field of evaluating evidence. The impact of the legislation is likely to be governed by the Court's application of the law.}},
  author       = {{Arnsteg, Anna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Samtycke eller icke samtycke - En rättsutredning av samtyckesreglerings påverkarna på bevisvärdering i våldtäktsmål}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}