Sweden's gender equality remains wanting

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has recently released during its Fortieth session, an assessment report on the gender equality performance of Sweden. It noted Sweden's adoption of a national human rights plan of action for 2006-2009, which focuses on protection against discrimination, as well as the adoption in May 2006 of a new gender equality priorities. The government has also increased by tenfold the budget for gender equality policy, as well as the promotion of gender mainstreaming throughout the governmental bodies.

The Committee also noted the adoption in November 2007, of an action plan to combat men's violence against women, violence and oppression in the name of honour and violence in same sex relationships. Furthermore, the amendment of the Swedish Aliens Act of 2006 to grant refugee status to persons claiming fear of persecution on grounds of gender and sexual orientation was also acknowledged. Another positive contribution was the amendment of the Abortion Act in Nov. 2007, wherein women can have abortion in Sweden even if they are not Swedish citizens.

But Sweden's gender equality performance requires further improvement, the CEDAW committee stated in its report. It noted that the Swedish constitution is "gender-blind" or not "gender-sensitive" and that the concept of gender equality is not in line with the Convention. It is recommending that Sweden's future Anti-Discrimination Act, which will cover seven areas of discrimination be made part of the domestic law.

The Committee also urges Sweden to use the Anti-Discrimination Act to strengthen the national legislative framework for the protection of the human rights of women, as well as increasing the awareness among judges, prosecutors and lawyers of the Convention, through practical reference to it in all aspects of its work. Although Sweden has already been gender mainstreaming at the municipal, regional and governmental levels under its 2004-2009 plan, the Committee noted that the plan "lacks effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms, including sanctions for non-compliance.

The Committee expressed its concern over the "persistence of stereotypical attitudes towards women" particularly in media, in what it calls the "sexualization of the public sphere." It is urging Sweden to use strategies to combat the sexualization of the public sphere, in order to insure that media coverage is non-discriminatory.
In addition, the Committee noted the low percentage of women in the academia. It is recommending the use of temporary special measures like quotas or goals.

The report also noted the women's high level of participation in the labour market and asks that measures should be taken by the Swedish government, to encourage the trend by enabling women to cope with both their work and their family life through the extended maternity and paternity leave schemes.

In addition, the report also noted the high prevalence of violence against women and girls, particularly those committed in the name of honour. Furthermore, it stated that there is a low prosecution and conviction rate of crimes related to violence, and that Swedish crime statistics are not sex-specific. There are also no statistics of women and girls living in Sweden, who have been genitally mutilated.

The Committee acknowledges the progress made to address the issue of trafficking, which includes the ratification in July 1, 2004 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. But it is concerned with the trafficking of women and girls into Sweden and the insufficient data of its prevalence. It is equally concerned at the occurrence of trafficking in girls, prostitution and similar crimes committed by Swedish men abroad. It is recommending that passports not be re-issued to those freed after posting bail, for committing crimes of sexual exploitation abroad.#
( Source: CEDAW Fortieth Session, 14 January-1 February, 2008. Advanced Unedited Version)