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Att söka upp sin förövare - En diskursanalys av den rättsliga konstruktionen av det sexuellt självskadande subjektet

Sanded, Ulrika LU (2019) JURM02 20191
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
Sex as self-injury could be described as a pattern of seeking destructive sexual connections in order to harm oneself mentally and/or physically. In Sweden, this behaviour is relatively unexplored, especially within the legal system. Nevertheless, people, which could be assumed to suffer from sex as self-injury, are to be found in both penal- and administrative fields of law.
In this thesis I firstly examine the understanding of rape defined in Chapter 6 of the Penal Code, in cases which include sex as self-injury. I also examine article 3 of the Care of Young Persons Act. Moreover, the defendant’s guilt is discussed, and special attention is paid to the new provision of negligent rape in Chapter 6 art. 1 a of the Penal Code. Despite the... (More)
Sex as self-injury could be described as a pattern of seeking destructive sexual connections in order to harm oneself mentally and/or physically. In Sweden, this behaviour is relatively unexplored, especially within the legal system. Nevertheless, people, which could be assumed to suffer from sex as self-injury, are to be found in both penal- and administrative fields of law.
In this thesis I firstly examine the understanding of rape defined in Chapter 6 of the Penal Code, in cases which include sex as self-injury. I also examine article 3 of the Care of Young Persons Act. Moreover, the defendant’s guilt is discussed, and special attention is paid to the new provision of negligent rape in Chapter 6 art. 1 a of the Penal Code. Despite the lack of established assessments of negligence in this field, one could argue that such an assessment most probably will depend on external, visible factors like cuts, burns and/or previous contacts between the parties.
Furthermore, the current way of describing sex as self-injury have been criticized for blaming the subjects who self-harm since they, in many cases, have contacted their perpetrators. This raises the question of how these subjects are described within the legal system.
I therefore analyse, using discourse analysis, how subjects who self-harm using sex, are constructed in 14 judgements from general and administrative courts. I study how situations of sexual acts are constructed through recurrent portrayals; this as a way of studying the construction of subjects who self-harm using sex. My work is based on social constructionist theory which emphasises that describing subjects and objects in different ways, gives them different content.
My study of the 14 judgements shows that subjects who self-harm in many cases are constructed as active subjects. The sexual acts committed are in several cases described as a consequence of their behaviour, for example their selling of sex or other risk-taking conduct. An alternative discourse focused on the subject’s poor mental health as an explanation of the situation.
The findings of the discourse analysis are lastly brought to an analysis of how individuals’ behaviours should be understood in the light of contextual aspects such as unequal power balances. Several scholars have stressed the importance of contextual aspects to understand certain behaviours while not reducing the subject’s agency. Regarding subjects who self-harm using sex, such theories can be used to understand their behaviour as neither fully consenting nor as only irrational. To be able to make such flexible interpretation of those subjects in the legal system, more knowledge of sex as self-injury is required. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Med sexuellt självskadebeteende avses, förenklat sett, ett handlingsmönster vari en person söker sig till destruktiva sexuella förbindelser i syfte att skada sig själv psykiskt och/eller fysiskt. Beteendet är relativt outforskat i Sverige, och kunskap saknas särskilt inom den juridiska disciplinen. Ändå förekommer det personer, vilka kan antas lida av denna typ av självskada, inom både den straffrättsliga och förvaltningsrättsliga disciplinen, då i egenskap av rättssubjekt.
Arbetet inleds med en undersökning av hur 6 kap. 1 och 4 §§ brottsbalken samt 3 § LVU, kan förstås vid fall av sexuellt självskadebeteende. Även frågor om den tilltalades personliga skuld behandlas. Utifrån en rättsanalytisk metod undersöks särskilt det nya... (More)
Med sexuellt självskadebeteende avses, förenklat sett, ett handlingsmönster vari en person söker sig till destruktiva sexuella förbindelser i syfte att skada sig själv psykiskt och/eller fysiskt. Beteendet är relativt outforskat i Sverige, och kunskap saknas särskilt inom den juridiska disciplinen. Ändå förekommer det personer, vilka kan antas lida av denna typ av självskada, inom både den straffrättsliga och förvaltningsrättsliga disciplinen, då i egenskap av rättssubjekt.
Arbetet inleds med en undersökning av hur 6 kap. 1 och 4 §§ brottsbalken samt 3 § LVU, kan förstås vid fall av sexuellt självskadebeteende. Även frågor om den tilltalades personliga skuld behandlas. Utifrån en rättsanalytisk metod undersöks särskilt det nya oaktsamhetsansvar som infördes i och med 6 kap. 1 a § brottsbalken. I brist på etablerade oaktsamhetsbedömningar på området går det att argumentera för att bedömningen med stor sannolikhet blir beroende av vissa yttre faktorer, som exempelvis dokumenterade skär- och brännskador och/eller tidigare internetkontakter mellan parterna.
Hur sexuellt självskadande subjekt beskrivs och förstås i allmänhet, har vidare fått kritik för att till viss del skuldbelägga den som självskadar; resonemangen bygger på att subjektet själv har sökt upp sin förövare. Frågan är hur dessa subjekt bedöms och talas om inom den juridiska disciplinen.
Uppsatsens andra del tar därför sin utgångspunkt i frågan om hur domstolen konstruerar det sexuellt självskadande subjektet i 14 mål från allmän och förvaltningsdomstol. Genom en diskursanalytisk ansats undersöker jag återkommande beskrivningar av, och resonemang om, situationen i vilken en sexualhandling uppkommer; detta som ett led i undersökningen av konstruktionen av det självskadande subjektet. Arbete företas utifrån en socialkonstruktivistisk idé om att det sätt vi beskriver något på får betydelse för dess innehåll.
Undersökningen av de utvalda målen visar att det självskadande subjektet i flera mål porträtteras som ett aktivt subjekt. Sexualhandlingarna förstod nämligen till viss del mot bakgrund av subjektets aktiva handlande och/eller frivilliga deltagande, då dessa exempelvis sålt sex eller sökt upp andra riskfyllda situationer. I en alternativ diskurs förstods sexualhandlingarna dock mot bakgrund av subjektets psykiska mående och individen porträtterades som både aktiv och passiv.
Resultatet av den diskursanalytiska undersökningen problematiseras även utifrån ett genusrättsvetenskapligt teoretiskt ramverk om kontextualiserade subjekt. Utifrån denna position har flera författare betonat vikten av att betrakta individens handlanden mot bakgrund av den bredare kontext vari individen befinner sig/utifrån strukturella maktförhållanden; detta utan att reducera individens utrymme för aktörskap. I förhållande till sexuellt självskadande subjekt möjliggör teorierna en förståelse av subjektets handlingar som något annat än ett fullständigt uttryck för frivillighet, eller motsatt, enkom som ett uttryck för en inneboende irrationalitet hos subjektet. Det krävs dock ökad kunskap om sexuellt självskadebeteende inom den juridiska disciplinen för att en sådan flexibel tolkning av det sexuellt självskadande subjektet ska vara möjlig. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sanded, Ulrika LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
To look for a perpetrator - A discourse analysis of the construction of subjects who self-harm using sex
course
JURM02 20191
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
straffrätt, criminal law, sexuellt självskadebeteende, sex as self-injury
language
Swedish
id
8977579
date added to LUP
2019-06-17 14:26:06
date last changed
2019-06-17 14:26:06
@misc{8977579,
  abstract     = {{Sex as self-injury could be described as a pattern of seeking destructive sexual connections in order to harm oneself mentally and/or physically. In Sweden, this behaviour is relatively unexplored, especially within the legal system. Nevertheless, people, which could be assumed to suffer from sex as self-injury, are to be found in both penal- and administrative fields of law. 
In this thesis I firstly examine the understanding of rape defined in Chapter 6 of the Penal Code, in cases which include sex as self-injury. I also examine article 3 of the Care of Young Persons Act. Moreover, the defendant’s guilt is discussed, and special attention is paid to the new provision of negligent rape in Chapter 6 art. 1 a of the Penal Code. Despite the lack of established assessments of negligence in this field, one could argue that such an assessment most probably will depend on external, visible factors like cuts, burns and/or previous contacts between the parties.
Furthermore, the current way of describing sex as self-injury have been criticized for blaming the subjects who self-harm since they, in many cases, have contacted their perpetrators. This raises the question of how these subjects are described within the legal system. 
I therefore analyse, using discourse analysis, how subjects who self-harm using sex, are constructed in 14 judgements from general and administrative courts. I study how situations of sexual acts are constructed through recurrent portrayals; this as a way of studying the construction of subjects who self-harm using sex. My work is based on social constructionist theory which emphasises that describing subjects and objects in different ways, gives them different content. 
My study of the 14 judgements shows that subjects who self-harm in many cases are constructed as active subjects. The sexual acts committed are in several cases described as a consequence of their behaviour, for example their selling of sex or other risk-taking conduct. An alternative discourse focused on the subject’s poor mental health as an explanation of the situation. 
The findings of the discourse analysis are lastly brought to an analysis of how individuals’ behaviours should be understood in the light of contextual aspects such as unequal power balances. Several scholars have stressed the importance of contextual aspects to understand certain behaviours while not reducing the subject’s agency. Regarding subjects who self-harm using sex, such theories can be used to understand their behaviour as neither fully consenting nor as only irrational. To be able to make such flexible interpretation of those subjects in the legal system, more knowledge of sex as self-injury is required.}},
  author       = {{Sanded, Ulrika}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Att söka upp sin förövare - En diskursanalys av den rättsliga konstruktionen av det sexuellt självskadande subjektet}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}