At a glance
Key figures — the most important numbers on this page
Year
2022
Honour-based oppression becomes a specific offence in the Penal Code
Reported offences
254
Honour-based oppression in the first 3.5 years after the legal change, up to and including 2025 (Brå 2026:19)
Penal Code
Ch. 4 § 4 e
Honour-based oppression — repeated offences with an honour motive against one person
What does the data show?
Objective observations — not interpretations
- Scale: no agency systematically counts honour-based violence. The often-cited estimate of 240,000 is not shown until the original and calculation have been checked.
- Studies of honour-based restrictions use different samples and questions. Levels are not shown until the originals have been checked, and no rate of change is calculated.
- Legal development: Sweden introduced honour-based oppression as a distinct criminal offence in 2022. Brå's statistics on reported offences of honour-based oppression are therefore too short for trend analysis.
- Methodical reading: 'reported offences of honour-based oppression' is not the same as 'confirmed cases'. Control and threats in a honour context are likely heavily under-reported.
Definitions
How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover
- Honour-based violence
- Violence, threats or control against a person — usually a woman or young person — intended to defend or restore family or clan honour. May cover choice of partner, clothing, social life, sexuality and freedom of movement.Source: Jämy, the National Board of Health and Welfare, National Competence Team on Honour-Related Violence.
- Honour-based oppression (Penal Code ch. 4 § 4 e)
- Criminal offence introduced in 2022. Statutory text, Penal Code ch. 4 § 4 e (Act 2026:852), Swedish original quoted verbatim: ”Den som mot en person begår eller på annat sätt medverkar till 1. brottsliga gärningar enligt 3-6 eller 12 kap. eller enligt 24 § lagen (1988:688) om kontaktförbud, eller 2. gärningar som utgör straffbart försök eller straffbar förberedelse eller stämpling till brott enligt 1 döms, om ett motiv varit att bevara eller återupprätta en persons eller familjs, släkts eller annan liknande grupps heder, var och en av gärningarna utgjort led i en upprepad kränkning av personens integritet och gärningarna varit ägnade att allvarligt skada personens självkänsla, för hedersförtryck till fängelse i lägst ett och högst sex år.” Unofficial English rendering: a person who commits or otherwise participates in (1) criminal acts under chapters 3–6 or 12 of the Penal Code or under section 24 of the Restraining Orders Act (1988:688), or (2) acts constituting a punishable attempt, preparation or conspiracy to commit an offence under (1), against a person is convicted of honour-based oppression if one motive was to preserve or restore the honour of a person or a family, kin or other similar group, each of the acts formed part of a repeated violation of the person's integrity and the acts were liable to seriously damage the person's self-esteem.The quotation is statutory text from the Swedish Penal Code as published on riksdagen.se (retrieved 2026-11-03); the English rendering is unofficial. Penalty: imprisonment for at least one and at most six years.
- Honour-based restrictions (Jämy / Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society)
- The pupil cannot choose partner, clothing or social life freely, or does not participate in swimming or sex education for family-honour reasons. The 2009 and 2018 urban studies measure exactly this category of restrictions.Source: Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society 2009; Jämy 2018.
- Reported offences of honour-based oppression (Brå)
- Number of police-reported offences classified as honour-based oppression (Penal Code ch. 4 § 4 e). According to Brå 2026:19, 254 such offences were reported in the first three and a half years, up to and including 2025. The series is too short to draw conclusions about increase or decrease.
- Under-reporting
- The assumption that only a fraction of honour-based violence and control reaches the police or social services. Shame, fear, family pressure and uncertainty about legal protection contribute to a dark figure.Source: Jämy, National Competence Team on Honour-Related Violence, National Board of Health and Welfare.
- Collective control
- The term used in agency literature for several relatives — not only a single perpetrator — exercising control over a person's life, choices and freedom of movement. Central to the Penal Code offence of honour-based oppression and distinguishes honour violence from other intimate-partner violence.Source: Jämy, National Competence Team on Honour-Related Violence.
- Child marriage
- Marriage or marriage-like union where at least one party is under 18. Since 2020 child marriage is a standalone offence in Sweden (Penal Code ch. 4 § 4 c) with up to four years' imprisonment.Source: Government bill 2019/20:131.
- Forced marriage
- Offence under Penal Code ch. 4 § 4 c where a person is coerced or induced to enter into marriage or a marriage-like union. Penalty up to four years' imprisonment. Counted separately from child marriage, though the two often overlap.
- Virginity norms
- Ideas that a girl's or woman's 'virginity' before marriage is family property and honour. Can lead to control of clothing, social life, sex education, virginity tests or so-called hymen surgery. Included as an indicator in the Jämy and Origo studies.Source: Jämy, Origo, National Board of Health and Welfare.
- Female genital mutilation
- Procedures against a girl's or woman's genitals for non-medical reasons. Prohibited in Sweden since 1982 (Act 1982:316). The National Board of Health and Welfare estimated in 2015 that about 38,000 girls and women in Sweden may have been subjected, of whom ~7,000 under 18 — a modelled estimate, not a register.Source: National Board of Health and Welfare 2015 + situation update 2022.
- Confirmed vs estimated
- 'Confirmed' refers to cases recorded in crime or healthcare statistics. 'Estimated' refers to modelled estimates (e.g. the Board's 38,000). Estimates carry wide uncertainty intervals and should not be presented as exact values.
- Risk indicator
- Survey answer or agency assessment pointing to elevated likelihood of honour-based violence — e.g. no free choice of partner, no sex education, controlled leisure time. Risk indicators identify vulnerability, not confirmed offences.
How to read this
Data in context
How to read this
The charts below show what the numbers say — not an interpretation. Where data point in different directions (e.g. stable trust but rising insecurity) we show both series rather than pick a narrative.
Andel 14–18-åringar i storstadsurval med hedersrelaterade begränsningar — två punktmätningar (2009, 2018). Ingen löpande nationell serie finns.
How to read this chart
Definition
No timeline is shown: the levels from the 2009 and 2018 studies have not been checked against the originals and are not comparable.
Method
The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society 2009 and Jämy 2018 carried out separate school surveys in the Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö regions. The methods differ somewhat, so the figures should be read as two point measurements rather than an identical trend.
What the chart shows
- That the studies use different samples and questions
- That there is no annual national measurement
- That the 2022 legal change has not yet produced a long enough Brå series
Limitations
- Only two measurements, nine years apart.
- Sample from metropolitan regions — cannot be generalised to the whole country.
- The definition 'honour-based restrictions' may have been interpreted differently in the two studies.
Where research shows strong associations, they are cited. Where the evidence is uncertain or contested, this is stated. The page draws no causal conclusion beyond what the data supports.
The Nordics — same metric
Ingen jämförbar nordisk tidsserie finns publicerad för denna mätning. Se bildtexten ovan för detaljer.
Human consequence
Illustrative persona — not a documented observation
A head teacher at a lower secondary school in a metropolitan municipality.
Then
- All pupils took part in swimming and sex-education lessons.
- Outdoor days and sports events were planned without religious or gender-based exemptions.
- Parents' meetings treated every family as individuals, not as a collective with group rights.
Now
- Parents request gender-separated swim times or excuse girls from swimming.
- Outdoor days are replanned around halal meals, prayer times and gender-segregated groups.
- Girls say they cannot choose their own partner or friends — an honour-based restriction the school cannot always handle.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what is most often discussed
In closing
No Swedish agency counts honour-based violence and oppression systematically. Brå's statistics on reported offences of honour-based oppression (hedersförtryck) start in 2022 and are too short to show a trend.
The local surveys use different samples and questions and cannot be combined into a national series. Source: Brå, crime statistics; the studies listed in the method section of this page.
Sources for this page
The data comes from official primary sources.
Jämställdhetsmyndigheten · Irregular
Jämställdhetsmyndigheten — hedersrelaterat våld och förtryckHedersrelaterat våld och förtryck — definitioner och nationella kartläggningar
Latest data point · Source published
Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.
Back to overview →