Published 20 November 2024 at 06.01
Law & Right. Men are strongly and systematically discriminated against in recommendations about housing in Swedish custody disputes, according to a recently published study in the respected journal PLOS ONE. Despite the explosive result, the study has been completely blacked out in the Swedish media.
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The study shows that if one of the parents is unfit, the probability is much greater that the family law secretary – who are almost all women themselves – yet suggest cohabitation if this parent is a mother compared to if it is a father.
In the study, 29 family law clerks had to read a fictional story about a custody dispute between a weak and a well-functioning parent. When the frail parent was a father, shared accommodation was recommended in 7 percent of the cases, while when the frail parent was a mother, shared living was suggested in 38 percent of the cases. Women were thus offered accommodation with children significantly more often than men, based on the same information.
Although it is the district court that makes the formal decision on custody, accommodation and access, the family court's recommendations are usually followed.
“Above all the children who are affected”
– The study is important. It shows that even men can be discriminated against, says Sverker Sikström, professor of psychology at Lund University, who is one of the authors behind the article.
– But above all, it is the children who are affected. We know from other studies that the whole family, i.e. both the children and parents, feel best in shared accommodation. This applies to almost all measures of well-being, both psychological and physical, he continues in a comment on Lund University's website.
Since the study was published in August, however, it has not been mentioned with a single word in the Swedish media, Fria Tider's review shows.
Very few international studies have looked at discrimination against men in custody disputes, and no studies have been done in Sweden . This is surprising, according to Sikström, since the contact between children and parents is what most people perceive as the most important thing in life. In addition, custody disputes are common – about 7,000 per year in Sweden.
Nine out of ten are women
– The largest part of research on gender discrimination is done by women and focuses on how women are discriminated against, therefore it becomes especially important to look at the reverse relationship, says Sverker Sikström.
He also states that there is a certain so-called gender imbalance among those who are responsible for the decisions.
– Family law secretaries, 86 percent of whom are women, have the power to make risk assessments and recommendations in custody disputes. The district court's decision is usually based on their recommendations.