Is it true that rape statistics for Sweden are inaccurate since the legal definition of rape over there has expanded to include other definitons that in no way reflect what rape truly is? I've heard Liberals claim this, but I honestly haven't seen a solid answer as to why they're wrong for concluding this. I've read or watched personal accounts about this who say rape has dramatically increased in Sweden, but their data seemed in my eyes to be indicative as true in what they imply, but not set-in-stone; I would really like a solid answer addressing that specific claim regarding the manipulation of statistics, and genuinely would like to hear your perspective on it and see if you could answer my question. Btw, I'm a big fan of you and your channel!
Okay, that helps clear things up. Thanks for your answer, Ambrosio.
Swede here. I just want to add that the picture is even more complicated than that. In the past decade, Sweden has made a conscious effort to encourage people who are victims of rape to report the offense, because it's known that many rapes go unreported. The government has funded multi-million campaigns on a regular basis encouraging openness to increase the amount of victims that actually file a report. As a result it's hard to tell whether the increase in reported rapes means the actual number has gone up, or that a larger % of victims decide to report it. Or possibly a combination of both. When Swedish rape statistics, or crime statistics in general are reported by foreign media and foreign people I always feel like the numbers are simplified, taken with little or no context and often used to reach conclusions that simply aren't warranted. I'm not suggesting the number of rapes hasn't increased, I'm simply saying that we can't infer this from the information at hand. If you want to know more, I suggest you read this:
Also, since most Americans I've encountered who talk about these statistics are concerned about the migrant situation, I just wanna add that I'm extremely critical of the way Sweden has dealt with this issue. So I'm not making this point to somehow justify or defend my country. The government has made many critical mistakes, but the notion that Sweden has become the "rape capital of Europe" is unwarranted at best, and ridiculous at worst.
Thank you so much for your answer.
Thanks for watching and for the awesome question! The definition of rape in Sweden was changed in 2005 to be more broad, so it's true that comparing rape statistics from the 1980's to today has its issues. However, the definition of rape hasn't changed since 2005, yet (under this same definition), the number of sex crimes HAS IN FACT increased in Sweden. This increase has been especially noticeable the past few years, and unfortunately, it isn't due to some change in legal wordings.
