Sweden enjoys a reputation as a nation in which women have extensive equal rights and attain high positions in virtually all sectors of society. It has always been a nation who is a leader in the fight for gender equity, but for some reason on the issue of rape, their record is one of indifference to the plight of women. An Amnesty General report on rape in Nordic countries blasted Sweden for the number of rapes reported and the number of convictions for rape. The number of of convictions today is lower than what it was thirty years ago. It is also estimated that only five to ten percent of rapes are ever reported to the police since, apparently, many women do not believe any action will be taken other than subjecting them to publicity and embarrassment.
The evidence appears to suggest that women who were drunk when forced into sex have a difficult time proving it was rape rather than consensual. The fear of public shame is quite strong among educated Swedish women and they lag in reporting sexual assaults. It is now statistically more likely for a person in Sweden to be sexually assaulted than robbed.
