Sweden: information for victims of rape and sexual abuse
First steps
It’s your choice as to what you do next, but this information can help you come to a decision. The most important thing is to make sure you are as safe as you can be. You can:
- contact the international emergency number of 112
- contact your tour operator if you are traveling with one
- Contact British Embassy in Stockholm
Tel: 0046 (0)8-671 3000. Embassy staff will be empathetic and non-judgmental and can provide information on local police and medical procedures. Everything you tell them will be treated as strictly confidential. They can contact your family or friends for you if you want
If you want to report the incident to the police in Sweden
If you have a tour operator, they should be able to arrange for someone to support you. If you are in an area where the British Embassy is located, they will try to send a consular officer to support you, where time and space permit. You will always be able to speak to trained consular staff on the phone 24/7.
If you contact the police directly, you can also ask them to inform the nearest British Embassy on 0046 (0)8-671 3000 and they can offer you consular support.
If you choose to report the crime, try to do so as soon as possible so that forensic evidence can be preserved.
Washing oneself or one’s clothes can make it difficult for the police to obtain forensic evidence. If you change clothes, remember to take the ones you were wearing to the police. You may want to preserve evidence by keeping items such as condoms, bedding, toothbrushes, text messages or social media messages.
Tell the police if you think you have been drugged.
Insist that you receive a police report and request an English translation if applicable.
It may not always be possible to meet a female officer, but you can request one.
Most police officers in Sweden speak good English, but if needed an interpreter will be provided at no extra cost.
If you report an incident by phone, the police can come and meet you where you are, or ask you to come to the police station. You are not expected to surrender your passport at any time.
At the police station, you will be asked to give a statement and describe the attacker, and the police may ask you to provide them with evidence. This can include items of clothing, contact details of the attacker or text messages. Results from any medical examination can also serve as evidence.
The police will also ask you to undergo a forensic examination and will take you to a hospital, with your consent.
As a crime victim, in most cases you have the right to have a plaintiff’s attorney assigned to you. You can request a specific lawyer (male or female) if you wish, or one will be appointed for you, at no cost to you.
If you do not want to report the incident to the police in Sweden
The British Embassy or Consulate will be able to help you. This includes helping you contact your insurance company, your family (if you wish), making arrangements to travel back to the UK and/or providing you with information about local support in the UK. If you wish, and depending on the location and time, a consular staff may be able to accompany you to the hospital. They can also give you information on how to contact healthcare facilities, lawyers and translators.
You can get all the care you need regardless of whether you report the attack to the police or not.
It is your choice if you want to report the crime. If you choose not to report it, your case may not be investigated, and this may affect your right to compensation in the future.
Report the incident after leaving Sweden
You can report a crime if you have left Sweden by calling the police on +46 77 114 14 00.
If you don’t report the crime in the country where it happened and you return to the UK, you can still report the matter to your local UK police. The UK police should send the information you provide to the country where the crime occurred. However, it is up to foreign police forces to decide whether to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction and they may not take action.
You can report the crime to the UK police even if you are not seeking an investigation abroad. The UK Police can offer you access to victim support in the UK. They may still send certain details of the crime to the police in the country where it occurred. This may be necessary to protect vulnerable people or to stop more crimes being committed.
Reporting the crime in Sweden – what happens next?
You will be asked to make a statement about the incident including a description of the attacker(s) and the police may retain items of clothing and may take pictures of, for example, text messages or phone calls which may serve as evidence.
After you have made your statement to the police, you will be taken for a medical examination (if you agree to it).
The medical examination – what you can expect
All regional and university hospitals should have the resources to treat rape and sexual assault victims.
Stockholm
The emergency department for rape victims (the emergency room for rape victims) in Stockholm provides care to all people regardless of sexual identity within 1 month after the assault. The clinic is free of charge and is open all hours.
In regions outside Stockholm
Women should seek help from a hospital equipped with a gynecological emergency department. Men should seek help from a general emergency department.
Healthcare staff in Sweden have the right to break confidentiality and report cases of rape to the police. However, this is rarely practiced. The focus is on providing medical and psychological support after an assault.
When you seek medical attention after rape, you will be offered a forensic examination for sexual assault, or “rape shit.” This is carried out within 7 days of the assault and includes:
- swabs to collect DNA from hands, the mouth region and other areas of the skin that may be dirty
- medical assessment of injuries including photo documentation
- a gynecological examination to assess vulvovaginal damage. The gynecological exam includes swabs to collect DNA from the vulva, vagina and anal opening if applicable. For men, DNA swabs are collected from the penis, scrotum and anal opening if applicable.
- blood and urine samples
- testing for sexually transmitted diseases
The medical examination is carried out by a gynecologist or emergency physician, possibly assisted by a forensic physician. Swabs from the skin and mouth region can be performed by a forensic nurse.
You may be asked to leave items of clothing.
If you have chosen to report the assault, the police will collect the ‘rape package’ and its contents from the clinic. In some cases, the police also collect the results of the medical assessment and documentation of injuries.
When you seek help more than 7 days after the assault, you will be offered:
- medical assessment of injuries including photo documentation
- a genital examination to assess damage
- testing for sexually transmitted diseases
Treatment
In Sweden, HIV post-exposure prophylaxis can be offered within 36 hours of the assault. The length of time is related to evidence showing no effect of the treatment after this period of time. HIV after exposure prophylaxis within 36 hours after rape is offered at the Emergency Department for rape victims in Stockholm. In other clinics, doctors may contact a consultant from the infectious disease clinic to offer prophylaxis.
Emergency contraception is available without a prescription at most pharmacies. Gynecological emergency departments provide emergency contraception after abuse if needed. Emergency contraception must be taken within 5 days of the event to be effective.
Treatment and tests are free of charge at the emergency department for rape victims in Stockholm. At other clinics, patients may be charged for an outpatient visit.
If you have been given medicines abroad, you should keep the label or write down the name of the medicine, so that you let your local healthcare provider know when you return home.
Police investigations in Sweden – what awaits
The police can, with your permission, escort you to the place where the incident took place, if, for example, you do not remember the exact place of the attack.
You may be asked to identify the attacker by looking at photographs. Police identification parades are not used in Sweden.
If the police make an arrest, the suspect will be brought before the prosecutor at a detention hearing within 96 hours of the arrest. After that questioning, the suspect will either be released or detained until the investigation is complete. This can take several months, sometimes longer.
Court proceedings – what to expect
If the suspect is sentenced to trial, you may be asked to testify in court. If you have returned to the UK, the Swedish authorities will pay for your travel and accommodation to Sweden. In some circumstances it may be possible to testify via video link (but this must be requested at least 2 months in advance).
The judge can decide to hold the trial behind closed doors, without an audience. You can ask the suspect to leave the courtroom while you testify, he/she will then follow the trial via video link from another room.
It is not possible to file charges once filed, but the investigation will be automatically closed if there is insufficient evidence.
The alleged assailant may press charges and make false allegations (false representation).
The courts can order the perpetrator to pay compensation for any damages or losses. The compensation is usually around SEK 100,000 (around £7,800). The minimum sentence for rape is 3 years in prison or 8 months for negligent rape.
When you return home to the UK
You may want to tell your doctor or a Sexual Assault Referral Center (SARC) what has happened to you so that you can talk about the experience and seek further support and advice where you live
If you think you are at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI), you should ask your local healthcare provider to get tested. You must do this even if you have been tested in the country where the abuse took place.
England
NHS choices
or search the internet for ‘NHS SARC’
Scotland
Archway SARC: phone 0141 211 8175
Wales
New Pathways SARC: telephone 01685 379 310
Ynys Saff Sexual Assault Referral Center – Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Northern Ireland
Rowan SARC Northern Ireland: telephone 0800 389 4424
Support organizations in Sweden
It’s your choice to let people know. If you are ready to talk about it, these organizations may be able to help you.
warning
This information has been prepared by HMG officials who are not legally or medically trained. It should therefore never be used as a substitute for professional medical or legal advice. It is intended to help British citizens abroad make their own informed decisions. Neither HMG nor any officer of the Consulate accepts responsibility for any loss or damage you may suffer from reliance on the information provided.
Medical information has been provided by The Havens Sexual Assault Referral Centers at Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and was accurate at the time of production (02/02/2022).