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Eight out of 10 ‘stranger’ rapes in Sweden are carried out by migrants, with more than half of all rape convictions to foreigners, study reveals
PUBLISHED: 16:10 BST, 24 August 2018 | UPDATED: 16:13 BST, 24 August 2018
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More than half of those convicted of rape or attempted rape in Sweden last year were born in a foreign country, new statistics reveal.
In cases of rape where the victim was set upon and did not know their attacker or attackers, the figure rises to 85 per cent. Four in ten had been in Sweden less than a year.
The figures have been revealed following an investigation by Sweden's public service channel SVT, which has seen opposition politicians demand expulsion of convicted foreign-born rapists.
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The findings by the public broadcaster SVT has led to demands from opposition politicians that Sweden adopts a hard line with foreign born rapists.
A disproportionate amount of foreign-born attackers came from Afghanistan, with a total of 5.3 per cent of all convicted rapists born there.
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'Sweden needs to put its foot down. If you are a convicted rapist and a foreign citizen, you should be expelled,' said Tomas Tobé, shadow Minister for Justice.
'We must also dare to acknowledge that there are cultural and normative problems, such as with some young guys from Afghanistan, with whom we need to deal with.'
Researchers for the programme examined all convictions in district courts across Sweden for rape and attempted rape in the last five years.
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Their findings revealed that where the victim did not know the offender 97 out of 129 convicted were born outside Europe.
The documentary revealed that in the last five years out of 843 cases involving rape 427 of the offenders were from a country other than Sweden.
The figures produced showed that almost 40 per cent of those convicted were born in the Middle East or Africa.
The most common nationality of appearing in court – apart from Swedes – were asylum seekers from Afghanistan with 45 men either jailed or sent to a juvenile detention centre.
The documentary also revealed that the number of reported rape cases has increased by 35 per cent in the last ten years, but has not had a conviction rate to match.
In 2016 there were 6,175 rapes reported to police but just 142 men convicted.
As part of the documentary a rape victim who was assaulted by three migrants waived her right to anonymity.
Sofia Naslund was attacked in 2015 in her home town of Strangnas, about 100km from the capital Stockholm. Police arrested two of her attackers, while a third has yet to be captured.
Both men – an Algerian and Syrian – denied carrying out the assault but were convicted with the help of DNA evidence.
The Algerian was jailed for two and half years while the Syrian national was given a five years sentence. Both men will be deported after completing their sentence. Ms Naslund said the attack changed her life.
'In order to try to survive, one tries to shut down those memories. I ended up in a complete chaos of feelings and the body reacted, 'she said.
'I'm still thinking about it and that's one of the reasons I chose to move from my home town Strängnäs.
'Before I had a social life, I would go out with my friends. I don't do that today.'
The documentary has caused a storm in Sweden where immigration and integration are key issues in the forthcoming election which takes places on September 9th.
Both opposition parties, the Moderates and the far-right anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, said the figures showed the Government had failed to tackle the problem of immigrants and crime.
Sweden's Minister for Justice, Morgan Johansson slammed claims by the opposition that the government had been deliberately hiding figures showing the number of immigrants involved in sexual crimes.
'The opposition is trying to create a conflict that is not there. Well, it is election fever, simply. The assertion that there would have been some data that has been kept secret is completely untrue and taken out of thin air'
When the migration crisis in Europe erupted in 2014 the country's then Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's called on Swedes to 'open their hearts' to asylum seekers.
Sweden welcomed more asylum seekers than any other European country in relation to its population.
A record 163,000 applied for asylum in 2015 but due to a tightening of policies the number of applications has dropped to below 30,000 for 2017.
Voters have said immigration is their biggest concerns in next month's election followed by healthcare and law and order.
- Nearly six in ten convicted rapists in Sweden born in another country
- Where rapist and victim didn't know each other, figure is 85 per cent
- Four in ten 'stranger rape' attackers has been in Sweden less than a year
- Figures revealed in court documents unearthed by public service TV
PUBLISHED: 16:10 BST, 24 August 2018 | UPDATED: 16:13 BST, 24 August 2018
1
View comments
More than half of those convicted of rape or attempted rape in Sweden last year were born in a foreign country, new statistics reveal.
In cases of rape where the victim was set upon and did not know their attacker or attackers, the figure rises to 85 per cent. Four in ten had been in Sweden less than a year.
The figures have been revealed following an investigation by Sweden's public service channel SVT, which has seen opposition politicians demand expulsion of convicted foreign-born rapists.
+2
The findings by the public broadcaster SVT has led to demands from opposition politicians that Sweden adopts a hard line with foreign born rapists.
A disproportionate amount of foreign-born attackers came from Afghanistan, with a total of 5.3 per cent of all convicted rapists born there.
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Share
'Sweden needs to put its foot down. If you are a convicted rapist and a foreign citizen, you should be expelled,' said Tomas Tobé, shadow Minister for Justice.
'We must also dare to acknowledge that there are cultural and normative problems, such as with some young guys from Afghanistan, with whom we need to deal with.'
Researchers for the programme examined all convictions in district courts across Sweden for rape and attempted rape in the last five years.
+2
Their findings revealed that where the victim did not know the offender 97 out of 129 convicted were born outside Europe.
The documentary revealed that in the last five years out of 843 cases involving rape 427 of the offenders were from a country other than Sweden.
The figures produced showed that almost 40 per cent of those convicted were born in the Middle East or Africa.
The most common nationality of appearing in court – apart from Swedes – were asylum seekers from Afghanistan with 45 men either jailed or sent to a juvenile detention centre.
The documentary also revealed that the number of reported rape cases has increased by 35 per cent in the last ten years, but has not had a conviction rate to match.
In 2016 there were 6,175 rapes reported to police but just 142 men convicted.
As part of the documentary a rape victim who was assaulted by three migrants waived her right to anonymity.
Sofia Naslund was attacked in 2015 in her home town of Strangnas, about 100km from the capital Stockholm. Police arrested two of her attackers, while a third has yet to be captured.
Both men – an Algerian and Syrian – denied carrying out the assault but were convicted with the help of DNA evidence.
The Algerian was jailed for two and half years while the Syrian national was given a five years sentence. Both men will be deported after completing their sentence. Ms Naslund said the attack changed her life.
'In order to try to survive, one tries to shut down those memories. I ended up in a complete chaos of feelings and the body reacted, 'she said.
'I'm still thinking about it and that's one of the reasons I chose to move from my home town Strängnäs.
'Before I had a social life, I would go out with my friends. I don't do that today.'
The documentary has caused a storm in Sweden where immigration and integration are key issues in the forthcoming election which takes places on September 9th.
Both opposition parties, the Moderates and the far-right anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, said the figures showed the Government had failed to tackle the problem of immigrants and crime.
Sweden's Minister for Justice, Morgan Johansson slammed claims by the opposition that the government had been deliberately hiding figures showing the number of immigrants involved in sexual crimes.
'The opposition is trying to create a conflict that is not there. Well, it is election fever, simply. The assertion that there would have been some data that has been kept secret is completely untrue and taken out of thin air'
When the migration crisis in Europe erupted in 2014 the country's then Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's called on Swedes to 'open their hearts' to asylum seekers.
Sweden welcomed more asylum seekers than any other European country in relation to its population.
A record 163,000 applied for asylum in 2015 but due to a tightening of policies the number of applications has dropped to below 30,000 for 2017.
Voters have said immigration is their biggest concerns in next month's election followed by healthcare and law and order.
