”Han hade sin penis i henne” – Representationer av agerande kroppar i sexualbrottsdomar

Abstract

Sex crime judgments have repeatedly been criticized for reproduc- ing detailed descriptions of women’s bodies and sexualized violence as elaborate details are thought to increase the risk of secondary victimization. To gain a better understanding of the function of detailed descriptions of bodies and (sexualized) violence I examine how bodies and actions are represented in reconstructed party statements. 

Based on a view of touch and emotion as important meaning-making resources, I analyze discursive constructions of social actors and actions to show how the parties are positioned in the statements and what kind of discursive strategies are constructed by the positioning of the parties. The results show that positionings in women’s statements constitutes discursive strategies to construct assault through a structural representation of women’s reluctance and men’s willingness. By contrast, positionings in men’s statements constitutes discursive strategies to construct either voluntariness, misunderstandings, or non-events depending on the verdict and subject matter, through structural representations of women’s willingness.

I show that detailed descriptions of bodies and (sexualized) violence pose a functional necessity in party statements and that the language used cannot be changed unless current discourses about rape and ideal victims change. In addition, it is argued that the risk of secondary victimization remains even if competing discourses would change the language used in party statements.