Rädd, kuvad och med lagom motstånd? : En kvalitativ studie gällande grov kvinnofridskränkning i svensk domstol

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to examine constructions within the Swedish legal system of the plaintiff and the defendant in court cases involving domestic violence. Nils Christies theory of the ideal victim in addition with Strobls criterions was used as theoretical framework. The methodological approach of this study belongs to the critical linguistics. The analysis contained both freeing sentences and convictions during 2016 in Gothenburg's District Court. The result revealed that different types of constructions were present in the material, both regarding the plaintiff and the defendant. It is our belief that in the convicted cases the woman is being described as more fearful and subdued. The cases where the defendant was found guilty contained more vivid descriptions of the violence and the women’s fear. We could see that the plaintiffs response to the violence seemed to be of great importance. The less resistance the better. The analysis also revealed signs of variation in the court´s ruling between similar cases. This with regard to what extent the woman cooperated during the legal process.