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.[11][28][29][30]
There are three types of factors that determine the outcome of crime statistics: statistical factors, legal factors, and substantive factors.[11][28][29] The combined effect of these "make it safe to contend that the Swedish rape statistics constitute an 'over-reporting' relative to the European average", according to a study by Hanns von Hofer, Professor of Criminology at Stockholm University, published by The European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research.[11]
False accusation of rape
Main article: False accusation of rape
Sweden has faced a number of cases related to sexual violence that were false accusations of rape. Some of them includes:
In 2007, a father was sentenced to five years in prison for raping his daughter, who alleged the sexual abuse began when she was 4–5 years old and continued up until she was 16 years old. The man spent a total of 50 days in custody and he was also ordered to pay his daughter 380,000 kronor in compensation. The charges were later proved unfounded and the woman was charged with making false allegations.[50]
In 2008, a woman was sentenced to probation and psychiatric care for a false rape accusation as well as falsely accusing a man for threatening her. The Court ordered her to pay 52,000 kronor to the man whom she accused.[51]
In 2015, a woman falsely reported being group-raped in Karlstad; a case that garnered nationwide attention and spurred significant discussions regarding gender-lib, equality, and sociocultural issues in Swedish media outlets. Although rape charges were proven false, no charges were made against the woman.[52]
