Characteristics of convicted male-on-female rapists in the South of Sweden between 2013 and 2018: a pilot study

The objective of this study was to evaluate the main characteristics of adult male offenders convicted of rape or aggravated rape against adult females. We reviewed all convictions (n = 21) based on court documents from the District Court, the Court of Appeal and information from the Swedish Tax Agency in Malmö, Sweden, between 2013 and 2018. The findings indicated that the most common offender characteristics were a single status, mean age of 33 years and foreign background. The rapes primarily occurred within a private setting while the victims (who were often younger and knew the offender) were unconscious. Although assumptions based on these results should be made with caution, our findings provide a clear image of the typical circumstances under which these rapes occurred. This study should be viewed as a first attempt to create a database of characteristics of convicted rapists. As more data are added, more sophisticated analyses can be performed and stronger generalizations may be made. Information of this kind may also be important for further research, classification of rapists in offender profiling, and case linking.