THE #METOO MOVEMENT AND WOMEN’S MOBILIZATION: WHY HAS SWEDEN OUTPERFORMED DENMARK? A Qualitative Study of Sweden and Denmark

Abstract

Although Sweden and Denmark are often viewed as being part of “egalitarian Scandinavia”, the recent #MeToo movement has revealed a conflicting reality of a high prevalence of sexual violence in both countries. However, as it turns out, the movement has received considerably more attention in Sweden than in Denmark. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore why more women in Sweden were mobilized under the #MeToo movement in comparison to Denmark. The broader aim of the study is to contribute to more knowledge regarding the variation in women’s mobilization within women’s movements. The research is a comparative case study of Sweden and Denmark and has a qualitative deductive approach. The material used is online newspapers, official documents and interviews of three sets of actors from both Sweden and Denmark. The set of actors consists of two activists, two NGO representatives and two politicians focusing on women’s rights. To explore the variation within women’s movements, the #MeToo movement has been analyzed according to previous social movement research and a theoretical framework derived from the literature. The results indicate that women’s mobilization is influenced by five different factors: (1) State Support (2) Political Opportunities (3) Culture (4) Framing Processes and (5) Previous Mobilization Structures. Sweden has mobilized stronger than Denmark since all factors are more prominent in Sweden than in Denmark. Additional findings indicate that the mobilization structures in Denmark are intensifying and suggest that more women will mobilize in the future.