Sweden is a country with high levels of trust in both state and the criminal justice system and also the most prominent country in the EU in regard to gender equality. This essay aims to examine the paradox of high female trust in the Swedish criminal justice system in contrast to the low propensity to report domestic violence and crimes of which women are the majority of victims. This is done by answering three main frames of questions; What factors can explain and therefore influence trust towards the justice system? What factors can explain and therefore influence the propensity to report domestic crime and how do these factors pertain to trust? How can factors that affect trust and propensity to report crimes in close relationships be affected and remedied by the state? To answer these questions, we utilise established theories of trust, feminist political theory, research about propensity to report and models of agency and a historical account of the Swedish government's policy in regard to the safety of women and domestic violence. This is utilised to examine 10 official documents regarding different aspects of propensity to report domestic violence and trust. The high levels of trust could be explained by a combination of high levels of basic trust owed to Sweden's universalistic welfare model, high conceptions of police availability and good treatment and also a symbolic value of the justice system as bearer of societal norms and of being good willed in nature. The low propensity to report crimes could in part be explained by the conflict of interests between the women and the government. The government's responsibility and governing works through their definition of women's encapsulated interests. These are shown to differ from a majority of the affected women's definition of their own interests which could invite a feminist critique.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:oru-90155 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Kemmer, Ylva, Sundström, Stig-Olov |
| Publisher | Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap, Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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