Sexual health in Sweden

The law is built on voluntary participation, since 1 July 2018

The reform of chapter 6 of the Swedish penal code, brottsbalken, entered into force on 1 July 2018. The line between what is lawful and what is not is drawn at whether a person takes part voluntarily. It is no longer necessary to show violence, a threat or the exploitation of a particularly vulnerable situation for an act to be a sexual offence.

Two offences based on negligence were added at the same time

The same reform added oaktsam våldtäkt, negligent rape, in chapter 6 section 1 a, and oaktsamt sexuellt övergrepp, negligent sexual assault, in chapter 6 section 3. They cover gross negligence as to whether the other person is taking part voluntarily. What any of this means for a particular case is for a lawyer, a prosecutor or a court, and for nobody else.

The reform has since been evaluated by a public agency

Brottsförebyggande rådet, the national council for crime prevention, published a study of how the 2018 law has been applied. It confirms the date the law entered into force and describes the change as moving the offence away from the presence of violence, threat or a particularly vulnerable situation, and towards the absence of voluntary participation.

11771177

Anyone in Sweden who needs health advice or does not know where to go.

Cost: A nurse answers around the clock. No patient fee for the advice, you pay only the call. From abroad, +46 771 11 77 00.

Ungdomsmottagningen

Young people, usually from 12 or 13 until somewhere between 20 and 25 depending on the clinic.

Cost: Free under 18. Above 18 most clinics charge nothing, some charge the fee of a vårdcentral.

UMO.se

People between 13 and 25, for the body, sex, relationships and mental health.

Cost: Free. Run by Inera for all the regions and municipalities, with no advertising.

Klamydiatest

Anyone who may have been exposed. Ordered by logging in to 1177.se where the region offers it.

Cost: Free, and treatment for chlamydia is always free. A pharmacy test is not free.

Preventivmedel

A prescription comes from a barnmorskemottagning, an ungdomsmottagning, a gynaecology clinic or a vårdcentral.

Cost: Free within the benefit scheme up to and including the year you turn 21. Above that, the region decides.

RFSU

Anyone who wants the information in another language. mybody.rfsu.se publishes in sixteen languages.

Cost: A non-profit organisation, not a public service and not a clinic.

1177 is both a website and a telephone line

1177 is run by Inera on behalf of the regions. You dial 1177 and a nurse answers, around the clock, anywhere in the country. The advice itself carries no patient fee: you pay only what your operator charges for the call. From outside Sweden the number is +46 771 11 77 00. Parts of 1177.se are published in several languages.

An ungdomsmottagning is a clinic for young people

Ungdomsmottagningar are usually open from the age of 12 or 13 until somewhere between 20 and 25, and the exact limits are set by each clinic. You can go with questions about the body, contraception, tests for sexually transmitted infections, a pregnancy test, mental health, or after violence or an assault. Staff are bound by tystnadsplikt, professional confidentiality.

The visit is free under 18, and usually free above it

UMO states that a visit costs nothing if you are under 18. Above 18 most ungdomsmottagningar also charge nothing, but some charge the same fee as an ordinary vårdcentral. An appointment that is missed without being cancelled in time can be charged for. Ask the clinic you are going to.

UMO.se is the national site behind those clinics

UMO.se is written for people between 13 and 25 and covers the body, sex, relationships and mental health. It is run by Inera on behalf of all the Swedish regions and municipalities, it is free to use, and it carries no advertising and no sponsorship.

Testing for chlamydia is free, and so is the treatment

1177 states that testing for chlamydia at a clinic, or with the test you order from your region, costs nothing, and that treatment for chlamydia is always free. A test bought at a pharmacy is not free, and 1177 describes it as less reliable than the one your region provides.

In many regions you order the test by logging in to 1177.se

1177 describes logging in to 1177.se and ordering a free chlamydia test, which arrives by post, is taken at home and sent back. Logging in needs an electronic identification and a Swedish personal number. Whether the service exists at all depends on the region you are registered in.

Some infections fall under smittskyddslagen, which brings duties

For an infection covered by the communicable diseases act, UMO states that you must be tested as soon as you think you may have been exposed, that you pay neither for the test nor for the treatment, and that you must tell the staff who you have had sex with. Those people are then contacted and asked to test, without being told who named them.

Contraception is free up to the year you turn 21, and often longer

1177 states that contraception within the pharmaceutical benefit scheme is free for young people up to and including the year you turn 21. It adds that in some regions contraception is subsidised up to the age of 26. Above 21 the age and the amount are set by the region, so the figure that applies to you is the one your region publishes. A prescription comes from a barnmorskemottagning, an ungdomsmottagning, a gynaecology clinic or a vårdcentral.

Care after an assault does not require a police report

1177 states that health care can examine you and carry out spårsäkring, the taking of forensic samples, without a report having been made, and that the samples can be kept in case you decide to report later. The same page names the police numbers: 114 14, or 112 when the danger is immediate.

Some regions have a dedicated akutmottagning för våldtagna

In Region Stockholm the clinic at Södersjukhuset serves the whole region. It takes people of any gender from the age of 13, it can be reached by telephone around the clock, the visit is free, and no police report is required. It receives people up to 30 days after the event, and forensic sampling is described as possible within 7 days. Other regions organise this differently, and elsewhere the ordinary akutmottagning is the way in.

Kvinnofridslinjen answers on 116 016, around the clock

The support line for people subjected to physical, psychological or sexual violence took the European number 116 016 on 28 April 2025. It is run by Nationellt centrum för kvinnofrid at Uppsala University on a government commission. It is open around the clock, the call is free, and the caller stays anonymous. The earlier number, 020 50 50 50, still works.

RFSU is a non-governmental organisation, not a public service

RFSU, Riksförbundet för sexuell upplysning, has existed since 1933. It is a non-profit membership organisation and describes itself as unaffiliated with any party, any trade union and any religion. It is not part of the health service: it publishes information and runs campaigns.

RFSU publishes the same material in sixteen languages

Its site mybody.rfsu.se carries information about the body, health and sexuality in sixteen languages: Arabic, Dari, English, Kurmanji, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Sorani, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish and Ukrainian. It includes films, glossaries and material on contraception, infections, menstruation and consent, and on how Swedish health care works.