Sweden Now Defines Rape As Sex Without Consent (HBO)

Sweden just became the 10th European country to define rape as sex without consent.

The previous legislation required proof that the victim had been subjected to physical violence or threats or was in a vulnerable state.

But after years of pressure, Sweden's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of changing the law, and the new text, ratified July 1, says that sex must be voluntary. If it’s not, then it’s prima facie illegal.

Momentum for the change dates back to 2013, when four women joined together in outrage after a Swedish court acquitted three men of raping a 15-year-old girl with a wine bottle, a case they saw as evidence of failure with the justice system. They named their group Fatta — or “Get it” — and grew into a nonprofit organization that promotes messages about consent and gender norms through urban culture.

For Fatta, the law change was only a first victory, chairperson Elin Sundin told VICE News. “We need to go from a rape culture to a consent-based culture… what we really need is a change in male behavior and in the toxic masculinity,” she said.

Anne Ramberg, who heads the Swedish Bar Association, has no problem with the goal of changing attitudes around sex, but she says the new rape law leaves everything up to interpretation and gives victims false hope.

“I’m convinced the courts will have huge problems with this,” Ramberg said. “You extend the criminalized area, and in doing so, people easily get the idea that we will receive more convictions and we firmly believe that will not be the case,” she added.

Ramberg isn’t the only one who sees problems with the new law. At a training for Swedish prosecutors and police officers, many of the participants had questions about how to implement it.

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