11.5 Corporal punishment of children, domestic violence, gross violation of a woman’s integrity

Violence in the family, such as infliction of physical injuries as well as corporal punishment of children, is regarded as assault according to Chapter 3, Sections 5 and 6 of the Swedish Criminal Code.

In order to prevent domestic violence, Sweden has enacted progressive legislation that criminalises repeated criminal acts such as assault and sexual abuse against a family member as a gross violation of their integrity or, if the victim is a female spouse or partner, as gross violation of a woman´s integrity. The provisions require that the repeated acts have violated the person´s integrity and that the violations are carried out to severely damage the person´s self-esteem. The penal provisions on violation of integrity and violation of a woman's integrity are set out in Chapter 4, Section 4 (a) of the Swedish Criminal Code.

The Swedish Criminal Code (in Swedish)