Frivillighetens förflutna - En analys av hur tidigare sexuell kontakt färgar bedömningen i våldtäktsmål
(2025) LAGF03 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Våldtäktsbestämmelsen har varit föremål för flera stora reformer, bland annat införandet av frivillighetsrekvisitet 1 juli 2018. Denna uppsats ämnar att undersöka tolkningen av frivillighetsrekvisitet där den tilltalade och målsäganden har en bakgrund av tidigare sexuell kontakt. Studien fokuserar särskilt på hur domstolarna använder information om parternas agerande före, under och efter den aktuella händelsen i den samlade bedömningen av om målsägandens frivilliga deltagande kan anses styrkt.
I förarbetena till reformen 2018 framhålls vikten av kontextuell bedömning. Även Åklagarmyndighetens riktlinjer indikerar att tidigare sexuell samvaro mellan parterna kan utgöra en relevant omständighet vid prövningen av frivilligheten.... (More) - Våldtäktsbestämmelsen har varit föremål för flera stora reformer, bland annat införandet av frivillighetsrekvisitet 1 juli 2018. Denna uppsats ämnar att undersöka tolkningen av frivillighetsrekvisitet där den tilltalade och målsäganden har en bakgrund av tidigare sexuell kontakt. Studien fokuserar särskilt på hur domstolarna använder information om parternas agerande före, under och efter den aktuella händelsen i den samlade bedömningen av om målsägandens frivilliga deltagande kan anses styrkt.
I förarbetena till reformen 2018 framhålls vikten av kontextuell bedömning. Även Åklagarmyndighetens riktlinjer indikerar att tidigare sexuell samvaro mellan parterna kan utgöra en relevant omständighet vid prövningen av frivilligheten. Propositionen understryker domstolarnas centrala roll i dessa bedömningar, särskilt i avsaknad av en legaldefinition av frivillighet. Det betonas att frivillighet kan uttryckas på varierande sätt och personens inre inställning är utan betydelse. Vidare framhålls skyldigheten för en part att försäkra sig om den andres frivilliga deltagande vid osäkerhet.
För att erhålla en nyanserad bild av rättstillämpningen har praxis från samtliga rättsliga instanser analyserats. Domarna visar att omfattningen i vilken tidigare relation beaktas är starkt kontextberoende. Rättsfallen illustrerar hur tidigare kommunikation har resulterat i varierande utfall, både fällande domar, friande domar och i vissa fall lämnats utan avseende. Skillnaderna ligger i innehållet i meddelanden och hur de tidigare sexuella handlingarna skiljer sig från det aktuella åtalet. Tolkningen av frivillighet och den tilltalades uppsåt varierar mellan domstolarna. I vissa fall har uppsåt eller medveten oaktsamhet ansetts föreligga på grund av skillnader i beteende mellan tidigare och aktuell handling, medan avsaknad av uppsåt har konstaterats om dessa skillnader inte är tillräckligt distinkta. Denna variation i rättstillämpningen kan delvis förklaras av att ofrivillighet kan uttryckas på flera sätt och uppfattas olika av den tilltalade, samt att det är ord mot ord situationer. (Less) - Abstract
- The regulation on rape in Sweden has been subject to several major reforms, including the introduction of the requirement of voluntariness on 1st of July 2018. This essay aims to examine the interpretation of the voluntariness re-quirement in cases where the defendant and the plaintiff have a history of pri-or sexual contact. The study mainly focuses on how the courts use infor-mation about the parties´ actions before, during, and after the current event in the overall assessment of whether the plaintiff´s voluntary participation can be considered proven.
The preparatory works for the 2018 reform emphasize the importance of con-textual assessment. The Swedish Public Prosecution Authority´s guidelines also indicate that prior sexual... (More) - The regulation on rape in Sweden has been subject to several major reforms, including the introduction of the requirement of voluntariness on 1st of July 2018. This essay aims to examine the interpretation of the voluntariness re-quirement in cases where the defendant and the plaintiff have a history of pri-or sexual contact. The study mainly focuses on how the courts use infor-mation about the parties´ actions before, during, and after the current event in the overall assessment of whether the plaintiff´s voluntary participation can be considered proven.
The preparatory works for the 2018 reform emphasize the importance of con-textual assessment. The Swedish Public Prosecution Authority´s guidelines also indicate that prior sexual relation between the parties may constitute a relevant circumstance in the assessment of voluntariness. The government bill emphazises the central role of the courts in these assessments, especially in the absence of a legal definition of voluntariness. It is pointed out that voluntari-ness can be expressed in various ways, and the person´s internal state of mind is irrelevant. Furthermore, the obligation of one party to ensure the other´s voluntary participation in cases of uncertainty is highlighted.
To obtain a nuanced picture of the legal application, case law from all three judicial instances has been analyzed. The judgments show that the extent to which the prior relationship is taken into account is highly context dependent. The cases illustrate how prior communication has resulted in varying out-comes, including convictions, acquittals, and in some cases, being disregarded entirely. The differences lie in the content of messages and how the previous sexual acts differ from the act in question. The interpretation of voluntariness and the accused´s intent varies between the courts. In some cases, intent or conscious negligence has been deemed to exist due to differences in behavior between previous and current actions, while the absence of intent has been established if these differences are not sufficiently distinct. This variation in legal application can partly be explained by the fact that lack of voluntariness can be expressed in several ways and perceived differently by the accused, as well as the “he-said-she-said” nature of these situations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9190486
- author
- Kinch, Ebba LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Straffrätt, sexualbrott, våldtäkt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9190486
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 13:05:05
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 13:05:05
@misc{9190486,
abstract = {{The regulation on rape in Sweden has been subject to several major reforms, including the introduction of the requirement of voluntariness on 1st of July 2018. This essay aims to examine the interpretation of the voluntariness re-quirement in cases where the defendant and the plaintiff have a history of pri-or sexual contact. The study mainly focuses on how the courts use infor-mation about the parties´ actions before, during, and after the current event in the overall assessment of whether the plaintiff´s voluntary participation can be considered proven.
The preparatory works for the 2018 reform emphasize the importance of con-textual assessment. The Swedish Public Prosecution Authority´s guidelines also indicate that prior sexual relation between the parties may constitute a relevant circumstance in the assessment of voluntariness. The government bill emphazises the central role of the courts in these assessments, especially in the absence of a legal definition of voluntariness. It is pointed out that voluntari-ness can be expressed in various ways, and the person´s internal state of mind is irrelevant. Furthermore, the obligation of one party to ensure the other´s voluntary participation in cases of uncertainty is highlighted.
To obtain a nuanced picture of the legal application, case law from all three judicial instances has been analyzed. The judgments show that the extent to which the prior relationship is taken into account is highly context dependent. The cases illustrate how prior communication has resulted in varying out-comes, including convictions, acquittals, and in some cases, being disregarded entirely. The differences lie in the content of messages and how the previous sexual acts differ from the act in question. The interpretation of voluntariness and the accused´s intent varies between the courts. In some cases, intent or conscious negligence has been deemed to exist due to differences in behavior between previous and current actions, while the absence of intent has been established if these differences are not sufficiently distinct. This variation in legal application can partly be explained by the fact that lack of voluntariness can be expressed in several ways and perceived differently by the accused, as well as the “he-said-she-said” nature of these situations.}},
author = {{Kinch, Ebba}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Frivillighetens förflutna - En analys av hur tidigare sexuell kontakt färgar bedömningen i våldtäktsmål}},
year = {{2025}},
}