Mänskliga rättigheter (human rights): our walkthrough of chapter 7 of UHR’s Sverige i fokus
The seventh chapter of the study material for the citizenship test (medborgarskapsprovet) is about human rights: rights that apply to everyone, equality between women and men, children’s rights, national minorities and protection against discrimination. Here we explain the most important points in our own words.
Sverige i fokus is published by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet, UHR) together with the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket). This page is Testappen’s own walkthrough and does not replace the material. Read the original at UHR: uhr.se/utbildningsmaterial.
Human rights
Human rights (mänskliga rättigheter) are rights that all people have, simply because they are human. They apply no matter where you live, what sex you are or which religion you belong to. After the Second World War the United Nations (FN) was formed, and in 1948 the UN adopted a declaration on people’s rights. It contains 30 articles.
One example is the right to seek asylum. A person fleeing persecution has the right to ask for protection in another country.
Gender equality
Gender equality (jämställdhet) means that women and men have the same rights, duties and opportunities in life. In Sweden gender equality is a goal of policy.
One example is parental insurance (föräldraförsäkringen). Parental benefit (föräldrapenning) makes it possible for both parents to stay at home with the child and share that responsibility, so that it is not only the mother who takes it.
Violence in close relationships (våld i nära relationer) is a crime under Swedish law. Violence is always forbidden, even within the family.
Sexual acts must be voluntary. The consent law (samtyckeslagen) requires that both people want it. Whoever takes the initiative to have sex must be sure that the other person is willing of their own free will, and this applies between married people too. Buying sex (sexköp) is also forbidden in Sweden. It is the buyer who can be punished, not the person selling.
Honour-related violence (hedersrelaterat våld) is when a family or relatives use violence or oppression to control how a person lives. It can affect everyone in the family: girls and women, but also boys, men and LGBTQI people. Jämställdhetsmyndigheten (the Swedish Gender Equality Agency) is responsible for the work against it across the country. Child marriage (barnäktenskap) is forbidden, so no one under 18 may marry. In Sweden no one may be forced to marry, and everyone chooses for themselves whom they want to live with.
Children’s rights
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (barnkonventionen) is a UN convention on children’s rights, and since 2020 it has been Swedish law. This means that children have rights of their own, for example to express their opinion and be listened to in matters that concern them. Municipalities, for example, must consider what is best for the children when they make decisions.
Guardians (vårdnadshavare) are responsible for the child’s safety and development. Since 1979 it has been forbidden in Sweden to hit children, and that applies to parents too. Corporal punishment may not be used in bringing up children.
National minorities and indigenous people
Sweden has five national minorities: Jews (judar), Roma (romer), Sami (samer), Sweden Finns (sverigefinnar) and Tornedalians (tornedalingar). The groups have been in the country for a very long time, and each has its own language and its own culture. They were recognised as national minorities in 2000.
The minority languages are Yiddish (jiddisch), Romani (romani chib), Sami (samiska), Finnish (finska) and Meänkieli. A person who belongs to a national minority may speak their language in contact with public authorities, in preschool and in elderly care.
The Sami are also an indigenous people (urfolk) in Sweden, with a long and strong connection to their land, Sápmi. Sametinget (the Sami Parliament) is the Sami people’s elected assembly. It is elected by the Sami themselves. Members of a Sami village (sameby) can, for example, herd reindeer.
Protection against discrimination
Discrimination (diskriminering) is when someone is treated unfairly and the reason is, for example, sex, skin colour, religion, disability or sexual orientation. It is forbidden in Sweden, both at the workplace and in school. The Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, DO) is a state authority. Its task is to monitor that the Discrimination Act is followed.
A crime that targets someone because they belong to a certain group is called a hate crime (hatbrott). It can be threats or violence directed at people because of their ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
LGBTQI people (hbtqi-personer) have the same rights as everyone else. Two people of the same sex may marry each other in Sweden.
Practise questions about chapter 7
The questions are written by us, except sample questions that UHR has published, which are marked with their source.
The questions are always in Swedish, exactly as in the real test. Only the text of this site is translated.
En person skriver ett inlägg på sociala medier där hen kritiserar ett politiskt förslag. Vilket alternativ beskriver bäst hur yttrandefriheten fungerar?
Correct answer:
Explanation: Freedom of expression (yttrandefriheten) is protected in the constitution (grundlagen) and gives everyone the right to express opinions freely, including criticism of politicians and of political proposals. The freedom has limits that are set in law, for example the ban on agitation against an ethnic or national group (hets mot folkgrupp) and the ban on defamation (förtal).
Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).
Vilket år presenterade FN sin allmänna förklaring om de mänskliga rättigheterna?
Correct answer:
Explanation: The UN was founded in 1945, after the Second World War, and the declaration was presented three years later. It contains 30 provisions called articles. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 22.
Barnkonventionen är lag i Sverige. Vad betyder det i praktiken?
Correct answer:
Explanation: Ultimately the state must see to it that Swedish laws agree with the convention, and public bodies must use it in their daily work. The protection covers every child in the country, regardless of citizenship. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 24.
Vem har enligt barnkonventionen huvudansvaret för ett barns uppfostran?
Correct answer:
Explanation: The convention places responsibility for upbringing with the parents or another legal guardian, but does not leave them alone: society is to support them, for example through the municipality or health care. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 25.
Vilka grupper är erkända som nationella minoriteter i Sverige?
Correct answer:
Explanation: What decides it is that the groups have been here for a very long time and have carried languages, cultures and identities of their own. The recognition came in 2000. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 25.
Var har de nationella minoriteterna rätt att använda sitt minoritetsspråk?
Correct answer:
Explanation: The right applies to dealings with the public sector, not only to private life. The five protected languages are Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Sami. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 25.
Vad gäller i Sverige för två personer av samma kön som vill gifta sig?
Correct answer:
Explanation: The law protects the right to live with whoever you want, and two people of the same sex may marry. Since 2009 the Church of Sweden also permits the wedding to take place in church. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 26.
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