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Rape in Sweden has a legal definition described in Chapter 6 in the Swedish Penal Code. Historically, rape has been defined as forced sexual intercourse initiated against a woman or man by one or several people, without consent. In recent years, several revisions to the definition of rape have been made to the law of Sweden, to include not only intercourse but also comparable sexual acts against someone incapable of giving consent, due to being in a vulnerable situation, such as a state of fear or unconsciousness. In 2017, there were 4,895 reported rape cases and 190 convictions. In 2018, Sweden passed a new law that criminalizes sex without consent as rape, even when there are no threats, coercion, or violence involved. Sweden no longer requires prosecutors to prove the use or threat of violence or coercion. This led to a rise in convictions of 75% to 333. Legislation The first statutory law against rape in Sweden dates back to the 13th century. It was considered a serious crime, punishable by death until 1779. The current Swedish Penal Code was adopted in 1962 and enacted on 1 January 1965. A long-standing tradition of gender equality in policy and legislation, as well as an established feminist movement, have led to several legislative changes and amendments, greatly expanding the definition of rape. For example, in 1965 Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to criminalise marital rape. Homosexual acts and gender neutrality were first introduced in 1984, and sex with someone by improperly exploiting them while they are unconscious (e.g. due to intoxication or sleep) was included in the definition of rape in 2005. This excerpt is an unofficial translation, from the Swedish police website: Rape is one of the most serious sexual crimes. Whoever by force or threat forces another person to a sexual act that seriously insulting sentenced for rape to imprisonment for between two and six years. The penalty for rape is imprisonment for not less than four and not more than ten years. The sexual act can be intercourse, but also other sexual acts because of coercion or other circumstances are serious offensive can lead to a person convicted of rape. Anyone who exploits someone who is asleep, unconscious, drunk or under the influence of another drug, mentally disturbed, sick or otherwise is in a particularly vulnerable situation, was also convicted of rape. In Sweden, case law also plays an important role in setting precedent on the application of the legislation. For example, a 2008 ruling by the Supreme Court decided that digital penetration of the vagina, on a woman who is intoxicated or sleeping, shall be regarded as a sexual act comparable to sexual intercourse, and is therefore an act of rape. Swedish rape statistics Ever since the collation of crime statistics was initiated by the Council of Europe, Sweden has had the highest number of registered rape offences in Europe by a considerable extent. In 1996, Sweden registered almost three times the average number of rape offences registered in 35 European countries. However, this does not necessarily mean rape is three times as likely to occur as in the rest of Europe, since cross-national comparisons of crime levels based on official crime statistics are problematic, due to a number of factors described below. There are three types of factors that determine the outcome of crime statistics: statistical factors, legal factors, and substantive factors. According to a study in the year 2000 by Hanns von Hofer, Professor of Criminology at Stockholm University, the combined effect of these "make it safe to contend that the Swedish rape statistics constitute an 'over-reporting' relative to the European average". In 2014, there were 6,697 rapes reported to the Swedish police, or 69 cases per 100,000 population, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRÅ), which is an 11% increase from the previous year. In 2015, the number of reported rapes declined 12%, to 5918. On the other hand, Swedish Crime Survey in 2015 showed that 1.7% of the total population, or 129,000 people between 16 and 79 years old have been exposed to some extension of sexual offenses (including rape) previously in their lives, increased from 1% in 2014. In 2016, the number of reported rapes increased again to 6,715. The number of rapes reported to the authorities in Sweden significantly increased by 10% in 2017, according to latest preliminary figures from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. The number of reported rape cases was 73 per 100,000 citizens in 2017, up 24% in the past decade. In 2018, official numbers showed that the incidence of sexual offences was on the rise; the Swedish Government declared that young women are facing the greatest risks and that most of the cases go unreported. Statistical factors Unlike the majority of countries in Europe, crime data in Sweden are collected when the offence in question is first reported, at which point the classification may be unclear. In Sweden, once an act has been registered as rape, it retains this classification in the published crime statistics, even if later investigations indicate that no crime can be proven or if the offence must be given an alternative judicial classification. Sweden also applies a system of expansive offence counts. Other countries may employ more restrictive methods of counting. The Swedish police registers one offence for each person raped, and if one and the same person has been raped on a number of occasions, one offence is counted for each occasion that can be specified. For example, if a woman says she has been raped by her husband every day during a month, the Swedish police may record more than 30 cases of rape. In many other countries only a single offence would be counted in such a situation. In Sweden, crime statistics refer to the year when the offence was reported; the actual offence may have been committed long before. Swedish rape statistics can thus contain significant time-lag, which makes interpretations of annual changes difficult. Legal factors The way the crime itself is defined and various related aspects of the judicial process affect the registration of offences in the official statistics. The concept of rape can be defined narrowly or in a more expansive manner. In Sweden, the definition of rape has been successively widened over the years, leading to an ever-larger number of sexual assaults being classified as rape. For example, in 1992 a legislative change came into force which shifted the dividing line between sexual assault and rape. This legislative change resulted in about a 25% increase in the level of registered rape offences. Changes in the legal process has also affected the number of reports. Until 1984, rape was only prosecuted in cases where the victim was prepared to press charges, with an additional restriction of a six months time limit. This resulted in numerous cases of rape and sexual .... Discover the Jo Lovett popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jo Lovett books.