Vad är passiv (o)frivillighet?
(2023) LAGF03 20231Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- On June 1, 2018, a voluntariness requirement was introduced in the Swedish rape provision in Chapter 6, Section 1 of the Swedish Penal Code (BrB). The new requirement implies that the absence of mutual voluntariness forms the basis for criminal liability. The actions of the victim and how their expressed voluntariness is assessed are of central importance in the evaluation. In my essay, I have examined the boundaries of the victim's voluntariness when it is not explicitly expressed through words or actions. Specifically, I have investi-gated how passivity on the part of the victim relates to the voluntariness re-quirement. Since the law came into force, the issue has been addressed by the Supreme Court in two different cases. When the... (More)
- On June 1, 2018, a voluntariness requirement was introduced in the Swedish rape provision in Chapter 6, Section 1 of the Swedish Penal Code (BrB). The new requirement implies that the absence of mutual voluntariness forms the basis for criminal liability. The actions of the victim and how their expressed voluntariness is assessed are of central importance in the evaluation. In my essay, I have examined the boundaries of the victim's voluntariness when it is not explicitly expressed through words or actions. Specifically, I have investi-gated how passivity on the part of the victim relates to the voluntariness re-quirement. Since the law came into force, the issue has been addressed by the Supreme Court in two different cases. When the question of the victim's pas-sivity in relation to voluntariness has come up for consideration by the Su-preme Court, it has been assessed in different ways. In one case, the victim's passivity resulted in a conviction, while in another case, it led to an acquittal. This raises the question of how passivity should be assessed and in which situations it indicates voluntariness or lack thereof. Another question that aris-es is how the same behavior can lead to different judicial outcomes in terms of legal certainty. Within the scope of this essay, I have attempted to find an-swers as to when passivity constitutes a basis for voluntariness and in which cases passivity during intercourse results in a rape conviction. In my investi-gation, I initially analyzed existing law and then examined both Supreme Court judgments along with several appellate court judgments. Through this work, I have identified certain assessment criteria in the legislative materials and subsequently tried to identify the specific circumstances upon which the courts based their evaluations. Based on the findings throughout the process, I have found that passivity can be interpreted as both voluntary and involuntary participation. An overall assessment must be made, taking into account, among other things, any previously communicated consent between the par-ties. This may lead to some uncertainty regarding situations that result in con-victions. However, it is a necessary consequence in relation to sexual self-determination and legal certainty. Passive behavior must be capable of being interpreted in different ways to uphold the right to sexual self-determination. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Den 1 juni 2018 infördes ett frivillighetsrekvisit i den svenska våldtäktsbe-stämmelsen i 6 kap 1 § BrB. Det nya rekvisitet innebär att avsaknad av ömse-sidig frivillighet ligger till grund för straffansvar. Målsägandens agerande och hur personen uttryckt frivillighet är av central betydelse för bedömningen. I min uppsats har jag undersökt vilka gränser målsägandens frivillighet ställs inför när denna inte explicit uttrycker frivillighet genom ord eller handling. Mer specifikt har jag undersökt hur passivitet från målsägandens sida förhål-ler sig till frivillighetsrekvisitet. Sedan lagen trädde i kraft har frågan behand-lats av Högsta domstolen i två olika fall. När frågan om målsägandens passi-vitet i förhållande till frivillighet har... (More)
- Den 1 juni 2018 infördes ett frivillighetsrekvisit i den svenska våldtäktsbe-stämmelsen i 6 kap 1 § BrB. Det nya rekvisitet innebär att avsaknad av ömse-sidig frivillighet ligger till grund för straffansvar. Målsägandens agerande och hur personen uttryckt frivillighet är av central betydelse för bedömningen. I min uppsats har jag undersökt vilka gränser målsägandens frivillighet ställs inför när denna inte explicit uttrycker frivillighet genom ord eller handling. Mer specifikt har jag undersökt hur passivitet från målsägandens sida förhål-ler sig till frivillighetsrekvisitet. Sedan lagen trädde i kraft har frågan behand-lats av Högsta domstolen i två olika fall. När frågan om målsägandens passi-vitet i förhållande till frivillighet har blivit aktuell för prövning av Högsta domstolen har frågan bedömts på olika sätt. I det ena fallet resulterade målsä-gandens passivitet i en fällande dom, och i ett annat mål i en friande. Detta föranleder frågan hur passivitet ska bedömas och i vilka situationer det utgör ett uttryck för frivillighet respektive ofrivillighet. Ytterligare en fråga som ak-tualiseras är hur samma beteende föranleder olika domslut i relation till rätts-säkerheten. Jag har inom ramen för denna uppsats försökt söka svar på i vilka fall passivitet utgör en grund för frivillighet och i vilka fall passivitet i sam-band med samlag leder till en våldtäktsdom. I min undersökning har jag inled-ningsvis analyserat gällande rätt och därefter båda Högsta domstolens domar tillsammans med ett antal hovrättsdomar. Genom detta arbete har jag funnit vissa bedömningsgrunder i lagens förarbeten och sedan försökt identifiera vilka konkreta omständigheter domstolarna grundat sin bedömning på. Base-rat på det som framkommit under arbetets gång har jag funnit att passivitet kan tolkas som både uttryck för frivilligt respektive ofrivilligt deltagande. I be-dömningen måste en helhetsbedömning ske där bland annat tidigare kommu-nicerat samtycke mellan parterna tas med i bedömningen. Detta kan föranleda en viss osäkerhet kring vilka situationer som leder till fällande domar. Det är däremot en nödvändig effekt i relation till den sexuellt självbestämmande och rättssäkerhet. Passivt beteende måste kunna tolkas på olika sätt för att upprätt-hålla rätten till sexuellt självbestämmande. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9115736
- author
- Edström, Vendela LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Straffrätt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9115736
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-29 09:29:10
- date last changed
- 2023-06-29 09:29:10
@misc{9115736,
abstract = {{On June 1, 2018, a voluntariness requirement was introduced in the Swedish rape provision in Chapter 6, Section 1 of the Swedish Penal Code (BrB). The new requirement implies that the absence of mutual voluntariness forms the basis for criminal liability. The actions of the victim and how their expressed voluntariness is assessed are of central importance in the evaluation. In my essay, I have examined the boundaries of the victim's voluntariness when it is not explicitly expressed through words or actions. Specifically, I have investi-gated how passivity on the part of the victim relates to the voluntariness re-quirement. Since the law came into force, the issue has been addressed by the Supreme Court in two different cases. When the question of the victim's pas-sivity in relation to voluntariness has come up for consideration by the Su-preme Court, it has been assessed in different ways. In one case, the victim's passivity resulted in a conviction, while in another case, it led to an acquittal. This raises the question of how passivity should be assessed and in which situations it indicates voluntariness or lack thereof. Another question that aris-es is how the same behavior can lead to different judicial outcomes in terms of legal certainty. Within the scope of this essay, I have attempted to find an-swers as to when passivity constitutes a basis for voluntariness and in which cases passivity during intercourse results in a rape conviction. In my investi-gation, I initially analyzed existing law and then examined both Supreme Court judgments along with several appellate court judgments. Through this work, I have identified certain assessment criteria in the legislative materials and subsequently tried to identify the specific circumstances upon which the courts based their evaluations. Based on the findings throughout the process, I have found that passivity can be interpreted as both voluntary and involuntary participation. An overall assessment must be made, taking into account, among other things, any previously communicated consent between the par-ties. This may lead to some uncertainty regarding situations that result in con-victions. However, it is a necessary consequence in relation to sexual self-determination and legal certainty. Passive behavior must be capable of being interpreted in different ways to uphold the right to sexual self-determination.}},
author = {{Edström, Vendela}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Vad är passiv (o)frivillighet?}},
year = {{2023}},
}