Children Who “Witness” Violence as Crime Victims and Changing Family Law in Sweden

Abstract

Changes to the Swedish family law that came into force on July 1, 2006 aimed at introducing a more safety oriented approach to custody, contact, or residence disputes where there is also a history of domestic violence. In the 1990s, a more gender sensitive and “holistic” approach to violence in intimate relationships was introduced in Sweden. In the wake of these developments, children who see or hear violence to a parent, typically the mother, have increasingly been defined as crime victims in their own right. It is argued that these developments are also a key to understanding recent changes in family law and policy on custody, residence, or contact more broadly. A feminist framework for understanding violence in heterosexual relationships in combination with the redefinition of children who “witness” violence seems to have created a discursive opportunity structure that enables a shift in focus to violent fathers as parents, reaching into the area of family law.

KEYWORDS:

• children
• family law
• Sweden
• violence
• witnessing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This article primarily draws upon the research project “In the best interest of children: Gender, parenthood and violence at separation or divorce” funded by the Swedish Crime Victim Fund, and from a national report, for which the author was the responsible researcher, to the Co-ordination Action on Human Rights Violations (CAHRV) funded by the European Commission (Project PL 506348). The author wants to thank all colleagues who have contributed to the ideas presented in this text. She is especially grateful to Marianne Hester and Keith Pringle.

Notes

Socialtjänstlagen [Social Services Act], Chapter 5, Section 3.

Föräldrabalken [Parental Code], Chapter 6, Section 18.

Parental Code, Chapter 6, Section 6.

Parental Code, Chapter 6, Section 13.

Swedish legislation makes it possible for same sex couples to be assessed for adoption. However, it is clear that legal parenthood in the context of adoptions is based upon the model of heterosexual and biological parenthood (Singer, 2000).

Parental Code, Chapter 6, Section 15a.

Parental Code, Chapter 21, Section 3.

The changes in family law in 2006 (see as follows) also mean that children have a right to express their views in the context of interim decisions on custody, residence, or contact.

Parental Code, Chapter 6, Section 19.

Until recently, the law stated that this is the case if the child has reached the age of 12 years or the equivalent maturity. The age limit was removed in 2006.

Parental Code, Chapter 6, Section 2a.

The Nordic idea of law is continental in the sense that written laws are considered to be the primary legal material. In the Nordic courts, the role of the preparatory works is quite central in the interpretation of the laws. The preparatory works are often rich in statements about the aims of the acts and often also about how the acts should be interpreted (Nousiainen, 2001).

At the time of writing, this particular aspect of law is in the process of revision.

Chapter 6, Section 2.

Chapter 3 Crimes against Life and Health, Chapter 4 Crimes against Liberty and Peace, Chapter 6 Sexual Crimes.

This amendment is inspired both by the “Austrian model” (see Humphreys & Carter et al., 2006) and reforms in neighboring countries with more similar legal systems, such as Finland and Norway. The Extended Restraining Orders Act came into force September 1, 2003.

Social Services Act, Chapter 5, Sections 1 and 1a, Chapter 11, Sections 1 and 2.

This law has been subjected to various kinds of reforms (regarding both structure and content) in the 1990s and a new version (2001:453) came into force January 1, 2002.

Chapter 5, Section 11.

Svea Hovrätt, verdict July 12, 2005 in case B 3529-05, Högsta Domstolen, verdict November 2, 2005 in case B 3193-05.

One interpretation of this pattern is that notions of motherhood is tied to ideas of what a child “is” and needs (Alanen, 1992): when good-enough mothering is to be responsible for the good childhood, mothering becomes the standard for good parenting.