Honor-related violence in Sweden
Honor-related violence in Sweden (Swedish: Hedersförtryck i Sverige or Hedersrelaterat våld i Sverige) is honor-related violence (HRV) and restrictions placed and exercised by families, extended families or larger collectives from honor cultures in order to protect them from perceived injuries to their reputation. Violating the restrictions may lead to direct physical abuse such as assault, honor killing or psychological abuse such as restrictions on activities in the private life or being constantly controlled and monitored by relatives. These controls aims towards controlling the sexuality of girls as the reputation of a family is dependent upon the actual or alleged behavior of its female members.[1][2][3]
Life in a family from an honor culture means putting the will of the collective before the will of the individual, for example regarding the choice of partner, divorce, work outside the home or getting an education. The honor culture concepts regarding female sexuality are also involved in child marriages, forced marriages and female genital mutilation.[2][3] Besides being expected to monitor their sisters and other female relatives, boys and young men can also subjected to threats and limitations in their life choices such as forced marriages.[3]
HRV first received public attention due to the honor killings of Sara Abed Ali in 1996, Pela Atroshi in 1999 and Fadime Sahindal in 2002.[3] According to the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society in 2009, about 70 thousand women and men reported they risked being forced to marry against their will. This represented 6.6% of females and 3.8% of males aged 16-25 in Sweden.[4]
Origins
Honor cultures exist worldwide but are more common among people originating in regions spanning from North Africa via the Middle East to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Honor culture norms are also prevalent among Romani people in Sweden. According to researchers, those who live according to honor culture norms are primarily those who have immigrated to Sweden.[4]
In honor cultures, the family unit is the basic unit of society unlike societies based on individuals. Honor cultures are characterised by weak institutions and individualistic societies by strong state institutions. Sweden is one of the most individualist societies worldwide viewed from a traditionalist or secular perspective which is enabled by a strong welfare state. Lacking strong government insitutions, society is frequently structured along clans or bloodlines, for example as in Afghanistan, Albania, Eritrea, Iraq, Kurdistan, Libya, Palestine, Pakistan and Somalia. In these societies, clans and extended families perform the roles assumed by the welfare state.[4]
Characteristics
In honor culture families men are the primary decision makers but honor-related violence is also exercised by women. The family is organised according to a hierarchy where men have higher status than women and the older family members are ranked above the younger. According to the Government of Sweden in 2020, young women and girls are the primary targets of HRV besides young men and HBTQ individuals.[3]
Controversy
Researchers promoting gender theory or intersectionality have criticized that honor-related violence be used as a theme for research.[5]
Honor-related violent crimes
The most serious honor-related crime is often organized, deliberate and not limited to murders (honor killings). Incidents include torture, forced suicides, forced marriages, rapes, kidnapping, assault, mortal threats, extortion and protecting a criminal.[6]
According to the Swedish Prosecution Authority, domestic violence differs from honor-based violence in the following ways:[4]
| Trait[4] | Honor related violence (HRV)[4] | Domestic violence[4] |
|---|---|---|
| Individual/Collective | HRV is collectively planned and executed | Single perpetrator |
| Approval | In HRV, family members and fellow clan members frequently express great sympathy with the perpetrators. | The crime is condemned by close relatives of the perpetrator who receives little or no loyalty. |
| Planning | HRV is frequently planned in advance and sanctioned by relatives of the perpetrator | Not planned in advance |
| Regrets | The perpetrator often displays pride and may receive approval and respect from the group. | Perpetrator expresses regret and changes behaviour after exercising violence. |
Marriages
In Sweden like in other countries, forced marriages and child marriages often involve spouses who live in different countries.[7]
Forced marriages primarily target children and youung adults which leads to that many child marriages are also forced.[5]
Forced marriage
According to a 2012 government survey, at least 250-300 individuals reported a high risk of being forced into marriage against their will and at least 16 individuals were kept abroad to be married against their will.[7]
In July 2014, authorities saw it necessary to criminalize forced marriages to protect individuals who were forced to marry against their will (Swedish: äktenskapstvång). The maximum sentence is 4 years.[8] No court has given the maximum sentence as of January 2019.[citation needed]
The legislation also criminalized forcing someone to marry abroad where underage marriages are legal and also covered misleading someone to travel abroad under false pretenses where the intended outcome was to have the target individual married (Swedish: vilseledande till tvångsäktenskapsresa).[9]
Child marriage
Marriages before the age of 18 are banned in Sweden and are not recognized if either spouse had citizenship or residency in Sweden.[5]
According to a 2012 government survey, in a single year the Swedish Tax Agency handled 70 registrations of child marriages abroad where one spouse had either residency or citizenship in Sweden.[7]
Female genital mutilation
Prevalence of female genital mutilation
References
- ^ "Malmö stad / Vad är hedersförtryck?". malmo.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-11-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Vad är hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck?". Hedersförtryck (in Swedish). County Administrative Board of Östergötland County. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e "Regeringens proposition 2019/20:131 Ökat skydd mot hedersrelaterad brottslighet" (PDF). Sveriges Riksdag. 19 March 2020. pp. 1, 24–25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Yourstone, Eriksson, Westerberg (2016). "Hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck - Kunskapsöversikt och kartläggning av aktörer" (PDF). kriminalvarden.se. Swedish Prison and Probation Service. pp. 7, 12, 15–16. Retrieved 28 Nov 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Sweden. Utredningen om starkare skydd mot barnäktenskap, tvångsäktenskap och brott med hedersmotiv (2018). Ökat skydd mot hedersrelaterad brottslighet : Slutbetänkande (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm. pp. 60–61, 69. ISBN 978-91-38-24855-3. OCLC 1054108805.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Sverige. Nationella samordnaren mot våld i nära relationer (2014). Våld i nära relationer - en folkhälsofråga : förslag för ett effektivare arbete: betänkande. Stockholm: Fritze. pp. 218, 220. ISBN 9789138241394. OCLC 941451364.
- ^ a b c Regeringskansliet, Regeringen och (2012-05-24). "Stärkt skydd mot tvångsäktenskap och barnäktenskap" (PDF download link). Regeringskansliet (in Swedish). pp. 23–24, 375. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Haglund (2018-04-04). "Vad säger lagen om äktenskapstvång?" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ^ Regeringskansliet, Regeringen och (2015-01-15). "Familjerelaterat tvång i utlandet". Regeringskansliet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-11-28.