More and more women are claiming to be victims of sex crimes. New figures from the Brå (National Council for crime prevention) is showing 480 000 events affected Swedish women in 2015. It is more than any previous year.
In a new survey three percent of surveyed women say that they were subjected to some form of sexual offence in 2015. Corresponding figure of the previous year was less than two percent.
Most vulnerable are women between the ages of 16-24 years. Among the young women 9 percent reported that they were exposed [to sex crimes] last year.
The figures come from an interim report of the National Security Investigation, (NTU), that the National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has published.
“We cannot say what is the cause. This survey does not include the tools [details], but is designed to bring out the numbers and show how it looks, says Emelie Hambrook, investigators at Brå, told TT.
The question posed in the NTU covers a wide range of sexual offences, from flashing and molestation to rape. The victim may themselves provide the severity of the offence. In 29 percent of cases, it involves aggravated sexual offences.
“It seems that both minor and more serious sexual offences is increasing, but we cannot say from NTU how much any single part is growing, says Emelie Hambrook.
Between 2005 and 2012 there happened very little in Brå’s, statistics. The proportion of women who said they were victims of sex crimes was between 1 and 1.5%. 2013 increased the number to 2.4% and is the highest of the year so far.
“We know that the number of complaints increases. Most analysts see it as something positive. It sounds paradoxical, but it is about being more aware that this is a crime and that more women dare to complain, and that’s good,” said Felipe Estrada, professor of Criminology at Stockholm University.
At the same time, says Estrada that it is difficult to know why the statistics looks like it does.
“We’re seeing an increase in the last three years. Why this is happening we cannot say because there is a need for a deeper analysis of the data.
In a majority of all sexual offences in the report (69 per cent) the perpetrator has been a completely unknown person.
For men the vulnerability to various forms of sexual offences remained relatively steady over time – in 0.5% – while the vulnerabilities of women has increased in the last three years.
Source: Boras Tidning
