Sweden may have some very forward looking laws and views when it comes to the violation of [cis] women’s rights, but apparently they are still fairly backwards when it comes to [trans women] as well as male rape. In Sweden, a 61-year-old man was cleared of rape charges after the court ruled that the crime did not occur due to the fact that the woman he raped is legally male. The rapist stated that he was not aware that the person he was assaulting was transsexual.
Judge Dan Sjostedt of the Orebro District Court told the media that “The intended crime never had the possibility of being fulfilled.” According to news reports, the man followed the woman, attacked her brutally including ripping the victim’s clothes off and grabbing her crotch. All of this happened in front of the woman’s ex-boyfriend’s home, but the ex stopped the attack and the authorities then arrested the man. The court, though, ruled that the rape could not have occurred because they believed that it was impossible to commit the crime.
Sjostedt stated “We believe that he wanted to rape this woman in particular. But as she turned out to be a man [sic], the crime never was actually committed.” He called the rape ‘invalid’ and stated “There are different theories about how this should be handled, and so we’re looking forward to seeing the verdict from the Court of Appeals.”
The attacker still got charged with assault, was convicted, and faces up to four years in prison and must pay more than $2,000 in damage to his victim.
Sweden was the first nation to remove homosexuality from the mental illness rosters, and same-sex marriage is legal in that nation, along with LGB military service and adoption. Unfortunately, Sweden treats transsexuals very poorly and has a blind spot when it comes to the issue of male-male rape. The nation still forces trans people to undergo sterilization ahead of legally changing their gender.
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(Source: transfeminism)
