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Swedish teen's rape story causes Facebook stir

Published: 5 Oct 12 08:16 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/43630/20121005/

A Swedish girl struck a nerve Thursday after publishing a video on Facebook about her rape by a friend five years her senior, a day after he was sentenced to prison for two years.

"I am 14 years old. Only 14 years and four months. Something terrible happened to me," Lovisa Nystrand begins her tale in the video.

Nystrand, who hails from Linköping in central Sweden, was friends with a boy several years her senior. In August, when at his house, she was raped, according to Nystrand.

She reported the incident the same night and on Wednesday her friend was sentenced to two years in prison for child rape.

Nystrand initially only intended to share the video with close friends to cut short insinuations that she may not have been an innocent victim but then decided otherwise.

CLICK HERE to see the video with accompanying English translation

A day after she put the three-minute video on Facebook it had already be seen by at least 26,500 people.

More than 600 users commented, most of them expressing compassion and support.

In "How it happened" Nystrand faces the camera and shows small pieces of paper on which she had written details about her ordeal.

"A lot of people wrote and said they had been raped but did not dare report it to the police," Nystrand told the online edition of the mass circulation Aftonbladet .

"I told them: be strong. Do it."

Contacted by the online edition of the tabloid Expressen, psychologist Christina Fischler said it was "normal that somebody using social networks would seek support" there.

AFP/The Local
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10:37 October 5, 2012 by rramirez
First, this guy had been convicted of rape yet was at his house and not in jail. Second this guy was convicted of rape yet was sentenced to only two years. Third, this guy was just convicted of child rape yet this young girl was at his house? Obviously this is horrible for the girl, but this story screams of incredible naivety on many levels, societal and personal.

If Swedes are unhappy with these recurring stories, those who passed or could change the offending sentencing laws should be identified personally and targeted for removal from office if they do not aggressively act on behalf of change. I am not Swedish, but isn't that possible in your system? Victim sympathy might be temporarily cathartic, but it does not address the fundamental problems that played a role in this crime.
15:28 October 5, 2012 by Shibumi
I haven't checked any Swedish sources for the original story, but I think it was the publishing of the video that happened the day after he was sentenced, not the rape. According to the report, the rape itself occurred in August.

Agree it's a bit unclear... so I could be wrong.
21:07 October 5, 2012 by HenryPollard
A little bit of deeper snooping on this story has uncovered that this was another one of those Swedish 'rapes', whereby the offended female was happy..... until she found out the male was sleeping with others, at which point she retrospectively defines her voluntary sexual contact as 'rape'.
10:46 October 6, 2012 by waris
It must be terrible for the girls and its always boys fault but the girl went to the boys's place, oviously not to kiss only .
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