Abstract
This article addresses the content, context and development of the Norwegian rape offence to frame and explain current reform discussions. The authors describe how the offence has gradually expanded over time by partial reforms, the last in 2000, leading up to the contemporary stand of law. The article shows that the role and priorities of the feminist movement has had consequences for how the rape offence has developed. There are currently debates on whether to further revise the rape offence. While debaters share the view that rape is a serious offence and that more should be done to combat it, they are divided in how they see the potential and role of law; some debaters emphasise law as a practical instrument, others instead focus more on its symbolic functions. The authors argue that both perspectives are legitimate and needed, and see this acknowledgment as key for moving debates forward.
Highlights
The last few years have seen ongoing discussions about whether to revise the legal definition of the offence of rape in the Nordic countries, as has occurred in other regions as well
One starting point for understanding the contemporary rape offence and its related debates is the historical development of sexual offences in Norwegian criminal law.[7]
Compared to the general Anglo-American distinction between intent, recklessness and negligence, the Norwegian doctrine is split in two – intent and negligence – whereof the former may include instances of recklessness: In addition to intentional acts in a strict sense, i.e., where the offender uses force in order to achieve sexual intercourse against the victim’s will, Norwegian criminal law treats cases where the offender considers the relevant facts as probable as intentional
Summary
The last few years have seen ongoing discussions about whether to revise the legal definition of the offence of rape in the Nordic countries, as has occurred in other regions as well. The role of victims in procedural law and policy debate diverges greatly throughout the region While these differences may suggest a variety of starting points for the reform debate in the different countries, debates across the region have a history of affecting each other, as we will return to below. In this article we explore the content, context, and development of the Norwegian rape offence in order to frame the particular background and features of the country’s reform discussions. The article aims to explain and contextualise contemporary discussions on change of the rape offence. This article bridges different perspectives, past and present, to bring forward our understanding of the drivers of and challenges to reform of rape offence. After the presentation of the current state of the law, we provide some reflections on recent and ongoing reform discussions in Norway in light of the broader political and societal perspectives on rape (section 4).
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