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Bara en viktig signal? - En diskursanalys av mediers gestaltning av den svenska samtyckeslagen

Strand, Mathilde LU (2025) GNVK22 20251
Department of Gender Studies
Abstract
The purpose of this essay has been to examine how consent, victims and perpetrators are constructed in the Swedish daily press in connection with the introduction of the Consent Act in 2018 and five years later, in 2023. Through a critical discourse analysis, based on Fairclough's three-dimensional model, articles from Aftonbladet, Expressen and Dagens Nyheter have been analyzed. The results show that the reporting is characterized by competing discourses: on the one hand, the law is highlighted as a feminist victory and norm-changing social reform, on the other hand, its legal application and the risk of legal uncertainty are problematized. The analysis also highlights how representations of victims and perpetrators reproduce traditional... (More)
The purpose of this essay has been to examine how consent, victims and perpetrators are constructed in the Swedish daily press in connection with the introduction of the Consent Act in 2018 and five years later, in 2023. Through a critical discourse analysis, based on Fairclough's three-dimensional model, articles from Aftonbladet, Expressen and Dagens Nyheter have been analyzed. The results show that the reporting is characterized by competing discourses: on the one hand, the law is highlighted as a feminist victory and norm-changing social reform, on the other hand, its legal application and the risk of legal uncertainty are problematized. The analysis also highlights how representations of victims and perpetrators reproduce traditional rape myths, but in some cases also challenge them by making gray areas in sexual relationships visible. The essay thus contributes to gender research by showing how media both shape and convey the understanding of consent in the field of tension between law, norms and power relations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Strand, Mathilde LU
supervisor
organization
course
GNVK22 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
The Consent law, critical discourse analysis, victimhood, perpetrator, media representation, Samtyckeslagen, kritisk diskursanalys, brottsoffer, förövare, medieframställning
language
Swedish
id
9212948
date added to LUP
2025-09-22 16:18:18
date last changed
2025-09-22 16:18:18
@misc{9212948,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this essay has been to examine how consent, victims and perpetrators are constructed in the Swedish daily press in connection with the introduction of the Consent Act in 2018 and five years later, in 2023. Through a critical discourse analysis, based on Fairclough's three-dimensional model, articles from Aftonbladet, Expressen and Dagens Nyheter have been analyzed. The results show that the reporting is characterized by competing discourses: on the one hand, the law is highlighted as a feminist victory and norm-changing social reform, on the other hand, its legal application and the risk of legal uncertainty are problematized. The analysis also highlights how representations of victims and perpetrators reproduce traditional rape myths, but in some cases also challenge them by making gray areas in sexual relationships visible. The essay thus contributes to gender research by showing how media both shape and convey the understanding of consent in the field of tension between law, norms and power relations.}},
  author       = {{Strand, Mathilde}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Bara en viktig signal? - En diskursanalys av mediers gestaltning av den svenska samtyckeslagen}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}