Nordic Himpathy -the social construction of responsibility and sympathy in cases of sexual violence

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

In recent years, the Nordic countries have witnessed a surge in public discourse and awareness surrounding sexual violence, particularly exemplified by the #metoo movement and consequential reforms regarding consent-based rape legislation. Although different in their outcome and framing in the Nordic countries, the legal rape reforms and #metoo can be understood as results and efforts to change social norms regarding sexual violence. However, efforts aimed at altering norms tend to generate ambivalence and resistance. To grasp contradictory societal reactions to sexual violence the concept of himpathy has potential as an analytical lens. This neologism is short for sympathy with him and was introduced by Kate Manne (2018). Himpathy with the defendant in cases of sexual violence might result in epistemic oppression of the female victim and her trauma.

Participant’s previous country-specific research will be used to identify unique Nordic patterns on how sexual violence are handled and understood in the Post #me-too era. The roundtable will engage in themes such as the negotiation of sexual consent among youth, institutional responses within educational settings, impacts of consent-based rape legislations, examination of the Nordic manosphere, and the defense strategies employed by men implicated within the #metoo movement.

The specific national contexts and manifestations of variations of himpathy in five Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland) will be compared, and common factors unique to the Nordic countries will be addressed, such as similar social structures, institutions and institutional cultures, and shared cultural heritage, but we will also shed light on differences within the Nordic countries. This roundtable endeavors to deepen insights into the contentious nature of sexual violence, elucidating barriers to the establishment of consensual sex as a societal norm and legal reality.

Subtopic

• Topic 1: Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Behavior / Feminist Criminology (Gender, Crime and Justice WG)

Chair

• Hildur Fjóla Antonsdottir, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Akureyri, Iceland

Discussants

• Sara Uhnoo, University of Gothenburg

• Hannah Helseth, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies

• Päivi Honkatukia, Tampere University

• Katrine Bindesbøl Holm Johansen, University of Southern Denmark