Rättsväsendet och synen på kön & sexualitet : en genusteoretisk diskursanalys av våldtäktsmål i vår samtid

Sammanfattning: In May 2013 one specific rape case was highlighted by the media for its remarkable legal arguments made by the district court. Based on the fact that this case is not an isolated occurrence, this essay will examine how the notions of gender and sexuality influences the adjudication process in a rape case and what the consequences are. By using the method of discourse analysis and Judith Butler’s theory of gender, this essay intend to examine how the notions of gender and sexuality are being (re)produced within the legal discourse produced by the court’s individual assessments of this specific case. By examining the legal discourses that are being created by the courts, one can also possibly find a way to undermine the notions that create the discourse itself and thereby also find a way of strengthening the bodily integrity of the subject of criminal protection. This essay conclude that by focusing on the victim’s expression of will, the district court reproduce the idea of an accessible body and a passive sexuality established by the heteronormative notion of female sexuality. In conclusion, this weakens the protection and integrity of the victim. The court of appeal, unlike the district court, focused on the behaviour of the defendant in relation to the expressed will of the victim. This produced, within the legal discourse, a delimited body with an active sexuality established by and associated with the heteronormative notion of a male sexuality. In conclusion, this strengthened the protection and integrity of the victim and the defendant was convicted of rape.