Femtio nyanser av våld - en studie av vilka normer och värderingar om våld och sexualitet som kommer till uttryck genom konstruktioner av BDSM-relationer i rättstillämpningen

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the courts’ constructions of violence and sexual acts practiced in alleged BDSM relationships, by using a discourse analytical approach. Norms and values regarding violence and sexuality, as expressed through the courts’ assessments of a valid consent, constitute the framework of the thesis. A discourse analytical approach involves an attempt to penetrate the written word, in order to visualise norms and values. Research regarding BDSM shows that the use of violence may well be exercised within sexual practices. BDSM is a collective term for practices such as bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. However, the legislator has choosen to separate the legal assessment of crimes of violence and sexual offences. But is it actually possible to separate these two groups of acts? The legal assessments of crimes of violence and sexual offenses, practiced in alleged BDSM relationships, may illuminate the courts’ views on violence and sexuality. I presume that the legal trial of the court is affected by its norms and values, its discourse. Cultural anthropologist Gayle Rubin repudiates the premiss of sexuality beeing a natural force that exists independently of history and social context. Instead, she believes that sexuality is a product created by humanity, and is thereby socially constructed. This view of sexuality constitutes a central premise in the thesis. The central role of language in the social construction of the world is another assumed premise. The discourse analysis indicates that the courts’ view of sexuality is heteronormative, i.e. they assume that heterosexuality is natural and universal. This is demonstrated in the tendency of the courts to classify the violence as either sexual or non-sexual. The use of violence in sexual practices falls outside the heteronormative framework, and thus appears to be abnormal. Therefore, a clarification of what the sexual component consists of seems necessary. The heteronormative basis is also evident by the desire to categorise alleged sexual practices, such as for example BDSM. The construction of violence as sexual is also shown by the discourse of the sexual motive, in which it appears that the courts consider that violence can be used to achieve sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, the subject of legal protection is in a consistent manner constructed in the same way, both in the judgments relating to violent crimes and sexual offences. The body of the subject is constructed as open, and its sexuality as accessible and passive. Thus, it is not only the violence that is constructed as sexual, but also the plaintiffs themselves. The observed discourses suggest that the courts are open to various forms of sexual contexts. The studied judgements are certainly based on the assumption that a classification of violence and sexuality is essential and possible to do, but the courts are inclined to fill the constructed concept of sexuality with different meanings.