“Mäns våld mot kvinnor ska upphöra” En kritisk diskursanalys av Sveriges nationella våldsförebyggande program på området mäns våld mot kvinnor (2022)

Sammanfattning: Combating men’s violence against women has long been on the political agenda in Sweden and has intensified over the years. A national violence prevention program in the area of men’s violence against women has been in place since June 2022. The government presents its program and measures, outlining the direction in which society should change, and marks which ideas and arguments are considered legitimate in the public sphere. This essay aims to use critical discourse analysis to examine the extent to which the national violence prevention program (2022) contributes to and maintains hegemonic masculinity and gender power relations. To achieve this goal, the essay identifies examples of (1) gender-neutral language, (2) the invisibility of women and men, and (3) elements that shift focus away from gender relations/hierarchies in the program. The concepts of gender, hegemonic masculinity, and gender order were present, with hegemonic masculinity and gender order serving as the underlying discourses behind the codes. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the program discussed men’s violence against women using gender-neutral terminology, which includes both men and women as victims and perpetrators. This approach results in women’s victim role being diminished and made invisible, while men’s practice of violence is diminished and not held accountable. This in turn hides the actual gender distribution of intimate partner violence. The impact of the children’s perspective, which was also discussed in the program, can be compared to the use of gender-neutral terminology. It can be perceived as a method to direct attention past the gender conflict and avoid addressing the power dynamics that exist between the sexes. The national violence prevention program also paid attention to honor-related violence and oppression. Honor-related violence and oppression are presented as culturally conditioned, rather than explained based on notions of masculinity and power order. Finally, it can be stated that an interpretation of the presented data indicates that violence is perceived as a challenge for the whole society to a greater extent than only as a matter of equality and women’s human rights.