A stronger protection against sexual violations
Published
Background
On 1 July 2025, several changes to the Swedish Criminal Code entered into force. The purpose of the changes is to enhance the criminal law protection against sexual violations.
- As the line between our physical and digital lives fades, the sex industry has changed. Our laws must keep up. Criminalising the purchase of sexual acts performed online is a necessary step to protect those who are exploited, no matter where the abuse takes place, says Minister for Gender Equality Nina Larsson.
The purchase of sexual acts carried out remotely has been criminalised
The designation purchase of sexual services has been changed to purchase of sexual acts. The provision has been amended to also include sexual services provided without physical contact, for example via Internet.
The extended punishable scope can for example apply in situations where one person pays another person to perform sexual acts on demand in the form of cam shows or other material.
It doesn’t matter whether the performance is intended to take place in real time or afterwards. The decisive factor is that the payment was a precondition for the sexual act to take place and that the payment in turn was made or promised with the main purpose of allowing the perpetrator to view the sexual act visually.
The amendments are not intended to impose a general ban on the production or purchase of pornography. However, the actual main purpose must be assessed in each individual case.
