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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Don't defame a paedophile in Sweden

34 replies

lcakethereforeIam · 23/06/2026 08:52

I've just read this in the Telegraph

https://archive.ph/08Isb

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/22/woman-taking-on-lax-swedish-paedophile-laws/

I often get Sweden and Switzerland mixed-up so I'm not sure which one the tras come on here to tell us has self id and it has absolutely no problems. If it is Sweden though i can understand one reason why that might be. Such restrictive defamation laws would put off anyone making a complaint.

The woman was found guilty of defamation against the paedophile. Truth not being a defence. Unrepentant she's vowed to carry on 🦸‍♀️

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Manteiga · 23/06/2026 21:44

FinchiePink · 23/06/2026 20:44

She's not culpable for the harm other people may do.

She's only culpable for her own actions, which amount to defamation under Swedish law.

And you think that's a good law? Should we have a similar one in England?

FinchiePink · 23/06/2026 22:14

Manteiga · 23/06/2026 21:44

And you think that's a good law? Should we have a similar one in England?

We do have similar laws in England. Defamation by way of slander or libel is an offence. The law is not identical, but similar.

lcakethereforeIam · 23/06/2026 22:50

Truth is a defence in this country. Doesn't seem to matter in Sweden. That's a huge difference.

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Manteiga · 24/06/2026 01:20

Moreover libel is a civil, not a criminal, offence in England.

Cheezywotzitz · 24/06/2026 08:15

OMG! Sweden isn't a nice country! Who knew? Cough. Covers up all past and present Nazi activities. Cough

lcakethereforeIam · 24/06/2026 09:15

One of the rules of misogyny is about making the men look bad.

Eta. From Wikipedia about Cissi Wallin

Defamation case
edit
During #MeToo, Wallin claimed on Instagram that journalist Fredrik Virtanen raped her in 2006, which she reported to police in 2011, where he was not prosecuted due to difficulties to prove the case. In December 2019, Wallin was sentenced by the Stockholm District Court to probation and made to pay over 110,000 SEK in damages for grave defamation. Wallin said she would appeal the conviction.[5][6]

The case centered around the Swedish defamation law, where even if a story is true it can be considered defamatory if there is not enough public interest in its publication.

Wallin's legal case has drawn international attention. In 2022, after her conviction, The New York Times published an article about Wallin and Sweden's "MeToo" movement.[6]

Svea Court of Appeal upheld the decision in 2022.[7]

Later in 2022, Virtanen also sued Wallin's book for libel, and demanded all copies be destroyed, but lost in court.[8] The book was translated to Norwegian whereupon Virtanen tried to sue Wallin even there, but later withdrew his case.[9]

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Manteiga · 24/06/2026 10:02

Here's an academic study on the #MeToo prosecutions:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10691-024-09545-0

What's striking is that all were initiated by the State, and in none was the truth of the allegations examined. Twelve women were convicted of a criminal offence, receiving fines and/or suspended sentences; merely because they were deemed to have insufficient justification for exposing the men they claim to have raped or sexually assaulted them, regardless of those men's innocence or guilt.

The Only Path to Justice: The Criminal Legal System and Defamation Judgments Related to #MeToo in Sweden - Feminist Legal Studies

This article presents a study of court judgments involving women who, in connection with #MeToo, identified alleged perpetrators of sexual violence in social media and were later prosecuted for and convicted of criminal defamation in Sweden. We concept...

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10691-024-09545-0

lcakethereforeIam · 24/06/2026 11:10

I've just skimmed through that. I was left with two thoughts and no eyebrows. If the Police don't wish to pursue a complaint of sexual assault; it's too hard, the man's a friend, has connections, any number of reasons, it may be difficult for a victim to challenge them (although I hope there's some sort of legal avenue for these decisions to be tested). Secondly, the reasoning behind the defamation law as I understand it, social cohesion, seems very similar to the explanations put forward for doing nothing about the rape gangs. Are similar things happening to women and girls in Sweden right now?

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