Even More Strange Cases of liberal Sweden

In September last year I wrote a post titled The Strange Case of liberal Sweden. In short it was regarding animal campaigners who I assumed were protesting against meat eating or vivisection but were in fact fighting against a legal loophole allegedly allowing bestiality.

Today, I was gobsmacked when I read Swedish National Library in Child Porn Scandal.

I am stunned in particular at the following:

‘While it’s widely known that a wave of liberal thinking about sex and pornography swept across Sweden in the 1960s, fewer people are aware that it led to the legalization of child pornography.

The government at the time initiated a review of freedom of speech laws in 1965, looking closely at provisions governing the portrayal of children.

In 1971, a new law was passed which made it legal to buy, sell, and possess child, animal, and violent pornography in Sweden.’

So whilst the UK had the ‘Swinging Sixties’ with the advent of the pill and the mini skirt, the Swedish government went even further by passing laws allowing child porn.

I looked up who was in power in Sweden during these times and it was the Swedish Social Democrats!!! I dont understand this. If it was a Libertarian government I might start to get it but I thought the Swedish Social Democrats were against any form of sexism, even taking it to extremes. What were they thinking of?

A closer look reveals this 1971 law was passed when Olof Palme was the Prime Minister of Sweden. Mr Palme is probably Swedens most well known leader mainly because he was assassinated in 1986, something unheard of in Sweden at that time. I am reminded of that cracking Stranglers track ‘Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead’. How true!

Palme is revered but again I ask the question what on earth was going on here?

The next thing to have me spitting my tea out was this:

Citing “the child’s right to sexuality”, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (Riksförbundet för sexuellt likaberättigande – RFSL) launched a ‘paedophile working group’ to lobby for lighter sentences for sex crimes against minors and for a lower age of consent.

RFSL’s efforts paid off in 1976, when a government commission issued a proposal including both suggestions, as well as the decriminalization of incest.

The bill never became law, however, and Sweden eventually recriminalized child pornography in 1980, and RFSL switched positions on the matter.

I am relieved this didnt become law but what ‘government commission’ proposed this? Also what was the RFSL playing at? I think the age of consent should be 16 and no lower, you have to wonder what their motives are to want this lowered? As for the decriminalisation of incest!! What planet were these people on.

Thankfully child porn was recriminalized in 1980 under a Liberal/Centerpartiet/Mod government, under the stewardship of Thorbjörn Fälldin who was  the first non Social Democrat PM’s in 40 years and the first PM since the thirties who was not a professional politician in his teens.  Interestingly enough this Centerpartiet politician still lived on his farm, did his own cooking and took his own rubbish out, all without security.

To the meat of the story, I wonder if the library will be asked how they vet people who request such material? Very very dodgy this if you ask me.

Maybe I have got all this wrong, maybe I shouldn’t be having a pop at Olof Palme but I wonder if any politics or history students could explain what really happened here? Would have been nice had the Local done a bit of digging  and provided some backdrop to these laws,/proposals from this era.

Delicious Digg This Post Facebook Stumble This Post

Related posts:

1. So who shall I vote for in Sweden?
2. Moderately Liberal or Liberally Moderate?
3. The Cold war between Sweden and the USA
4. Sweden leans left….or so say the Economist
5. Getting a job in Sweden