Abstract
This article offers a theoretical approach to criminalisation in relation to sexual harassment, using Sweden as example. The topic is spurred by two separate but interrelated phenomena. The first is the #metoo movement, which raised not only awareness of the widespread problem of sexual harassment, but also questions as to whether criminal law can provide a proper response. The second is a growing concern, both in international research and among Swedish activists, that the feminist struggle against sexual violence is turning towards punitive measures. Taking the standpoint that feminist research and activism should engage in a critical conversation with criminal law and crime policy, this article employs Kelly’s concept of the continuum of sexual violence to analyse the scope for criminal law interventions regarding men’s intimate intrusions against women. Swedish criminal regulation is used to highlight some of the challenges of designing a criminal provision that considers the individual effects as well as the cumulative and collective impacts of sexual harassment.
Highlights
This article offers a theoretical approach to criminalisation in relation to sexual harassment, using Sweden as example
The #metoo movement marks a substantial shift, for the urgency, immediacy and global reach of the digital campaign, and in the public reception of women’s reports of sexual harassment. #Metoo has triggered a call for action against sexual harassment, raising the question of to what extent criminalisation can and should serve as a proper response
This question has several dimensions, one of which is the role of criminalisation in feminist activism and the extent to which punitive measures are compatible with the broader aim of social justice
Summary
This article offers a theoretical approach to criminalisation in relation to sexual harassment, using Sweden as example. Other scholars have opposed this way of framing feminist engagement with law reform.[7] Gotell argues that the carceral feminism critique overstates the influence of feminism on policy and contends that ‘the absolute rejection of criminalisation strategies would only intensify the silence around sexual violence as a systemic problem, re-privatising sexual assault and risking the return of impunity for acts of sexual violence’.8 Against this backdrop, I suggest that the question of how to define the scope for criminal law interventions regarding sexual harassment needs a more thorough examination from a feminist theory standpoint that takes into consideration the complexities of criminalisation. I use findings from an earlier study on sexual offences in Sweden,[9] combined with new Supreme Court cases, recent legislations and official statistics
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