Sexual corruption concerns many different actors

What challenge will you be addressing during Almedalen Week?

“We’re holding a seminar on sexual corruption. This is a form of sexual abuse of power that has, of course, existed for a very long time but that relatively few people are aware of.

“Sweden is often perceived as one of the world’s least corrupt and most gender-equal countries. However, corruption where sex is the currency occurs within Swedish government agencies, civil society organisations and companies.”

Why is this an important issue?

“It’s an important issue, partly because we need to put it on the agenda and talk about it. And partly because better legislation is needed to actually combat this problem. In the panel discussion, researchers and anti-corruption experts will discuss what kind of anti-corruption legislation is required.”

Who are you hoping to meet at Almedalen?

“It’s a complex issue, so we want to meet many different stakeholders. We want to meet politicians who can enact laws on this, but we also want to meet people who know more, both about corruption and about gender equality.

The problem of sexual corruption is now being addressed on multiple fronts, including by the UN, which for the past two years has been urging states to specifically target corruption involving sex. For the first time, sexual corruption has also been addressed in a Swedish context in the government inquiry on criminal law measures against corruption and misconduct in public office (SOU 2025:87).

Annica Hulth