Barnadråpsbrottet – ett tabubelagt rättsrudiment eller en särpräglad situation som motiverar privilegiering?
(2023) LAGF03 20231Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- The infanticide provision entails a privileging of the case when a woman intentionally kills her newborn child. The range of punishment for the crime is imprisonment for a maximum of six years. Despite its rare application today, the provision has a dark and extensive history and constituted a significant challenge for criminal law and criminal policy during the 18th century. The societal view of women who gave birth outside of marriage was extremely shameful and the act was punishable by death. Difficulties in criminal justice policy led to legislation where women could be convicted solely on presumptions and face brutal punishments like beheading and burning at the stake.
Over time, social, cultural, and forensic developments reshaped... (More) - The infanticide provision entails a privileging of the case when a woman intentionally kills her newborn child. The range of punishment for the crime is imprisonment for a maximum of six years. Despite its rare application today, the provision has a dark and extensive history and constituted a significant challenge for criminal law and criminal policy during the 18th century. The societal view of women who gave birth outside of marriage was extremely shameful and the act was punishable by death. Difficulties in criminal justice policy led to legislation where women could be convicted solely on presumptions and face brutal punishments like beheading and burning at the stake.
Over time, social, cultural, and forensic developments reshaped the perception of the perpetrator in cases of infanticide. The woman, once regarded as an unleashed evil entity, came to be seen as a victim of societal shaming and pressure, influenced by high psychological and hormonal stresses. Consequently, a milder punishment than what would typically be imposed for taking a person's life was considered justifiable. The present-day infanticide provision was established with the introduction of the Swedish Penal Code. The provision assumes that the woman acted under the influence of psychological imbalances resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. However, the current legal provision has been criticized in the discourse as untimely and redundant. To this day the regulation grapples with social, psychological, and criminal law aspects. Therefore, exploring the historical background and examining the ongoing debate surrounding it, presents an intriguing essay topic.
This essay aims to investigate the evolution of the infanticide provision and examine arguments regarding its suitability from a perspective of legal development. Additionally, alternative approaches in current discourse will be explored. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Barnadråpsbestämmelsen medför en privilegiering för det fall en kvinna uppsåtligen dödar sitt nyfödda barn. Straffet för brottet är fängelse i högst sex år. Trots att dagens reglering sällan tillämpas i praxis, har dess föregångare –barnamordsbestämmelsen– en mörk och omfattande historia, som under 1700-talet utgjorde det dominerande straffrättsliga och kriminalpolitiska problemet i samhället. Samhällssynen på kvinnor som födde barn utanför äktenskapet var oerhört skambelagd och gärningen bestraffades med döden. Straffrättspolitiska svårigheter medförde lagstiftning där kvinnor kunde dömas till halshuggning och bålbränning, enbart på presumtioner. Med tiden omformade sociala, kulturella och rättsmedicinska utvecklingar synen på... (More)
- Barnadråpsbestämmelsen medför en privilegiering för det fall en kvinna uppsåtligen dödar sitt nyfödda barn. Straffet för brottet är fängelse i högst sex år. Trots att dagens reglering sällan tillämpas i praxis, har dess föregångare –barnamordsbestämmelsen– en mörk och omfattande historia, som under 1700-talet utgjorde det dominerande straffrättsliga och kriminalpolitiska problemet i samhället. Samhällssynen på kvinnor som födde barn utanför äktenskapet var oerhört skambelagd och gärningen bestraffades med döden. Straffrättspolitiska svårigheter medförde lagstiftning där kvinnor kunde dömas till halshuggning och bålbränning, enbart på presumtioner. Med tiden omformade sociala, kulturella och rättsmedicinska utvecklingar synen på gärningsmannen i barnamordsbrott. Kvinnan, som en gång betraktades som en lössläppt, ondskefull varelse, kom att ses som ett offer för samhällets press och skambeläggande, under påverkan av stora psykologiska och hormonella påfrestningar. Följaktligen ansågs ett lindrigare straff än vad som vanligtvis skulle utdömas när någon berövar en annan människa livet rättfärdigat.
Den nuvarande barnadråpsbestämmelsen inrättades i och med införandet av brottsbalken. Bestämmelsen förutsätter att kvinnan agerat under påverkan av psykisk obalans till följd av graviditeten, förlossningen eller amningen. I diskursen har bestämmelsen i gällande rätt kritiserats som otidsenlig och överflödig. Än idag brottas regleringen med sociala, psykologiska och straffrättsliga aspekter. Att utforska den historiska bakgrunden till barnadråpsbestämmelsen och undersöka den pågående debatten kring dagens reglering utgör därför ett intressant uppsatsämne.
Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka barnadråpsbestämmelsens utveckling samt undersöka argument kring dess lämplighet ur ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv. Alternativ till regleringen som föreslagits i diskursen kommer även att beröras. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9115947
- author
- Danielsson, Elsa LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- straffrätt, criminal law, rättshistoria, legal history, barnadråp, barnamord
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9115947
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-29 09:32:00
- date last changed
- 2023-06-29 09:32:00
@misc{9115947,
abstract = {{The infanticide provision entails a privileging of the case when a woman intentionally kills her newborn child. The range of punishment for the crime is imprisonment for a maximum of six years. Despite its rare application today, the provision has a dark and extensive history and constituted a significant challenge for criminal law and criminal policy during the 18th century. The societal view of women who gave birth outside of marriage was extremely shameful and the act was punishable by death. Difficulties in criminal justice policy led to legislation where women could be convicted solely on presumptions and face brutal punishments like beheading and burning at the stake.
Over time, social, cultural, and forensic developments reshaped the perception of the perpetrator in cases of infanticide. The woman, once regarded as an unleashed evil entity, came to be seen as a victim of societal shaming and pressure, influenced by high psychological and hormonal stresses. Consequently, a milder punishment than what would typically be imposed for taking a person's life was considered justifiable. The present-day infanticide provision was established with the introduction of the Swedish Penal Code. The provision assumes that the woman acted under the influence of psychological imbalances resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. However, the current legal provision has been criticized in the discourse as untimely and redundant. To this day the regulation grapples with social, psychological, and criminal law aspects. Therefore, exploring the historical background and examining the ongoing debate surrounding it, presents an intriguing essay topic.
This essay aims to investigate the evolution of the infanticide provision and examine arguments regarding its suitability from a perspective of legal development. Additionally, alternative approaches in current discourse will be explored.}},
author = {{Danielsson, Elsa}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Barnadråpsbrottet – ett tabubelagt rättsrudiment eller en särpräglad situation som motiverar privilegiering?}},
year = {{2023}},
}