May-Len Skilbrei

Kruse, Anja Emilie & Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). The monster and the self: Taking on the monstrosity of sexual violations. Punishment & Society. ISSN 1462-4745. DOI: 10.1177/14624745231221933. Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

Laugerud, Solveig & Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Contested, Discounted and Disproven Stories of Rape: The Social Pathways of Rape Reporting. British Journal of Criminology. ISSN 0007-0955. DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azad076.

Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Moving desire: Multiple lives and desires in border-crossing prostitution, Borders of desire Gender and sexuality at the Eastern borders of Europe. Manchester University Press. ISSN 9781526165206. p. 80–95.

FitzGerald, Sharron & Skilbrei, May-Len (2022). Sexual Politics in Contemporary Europe: Moving Targets, Sitting Ducks. Palgrave Macmillan. 

Skilbrei, May-Len; Bjønness, Jeanett & Nencel, Lorraine (2021). Reconfiguring stigma in studies in sex for sale. Routledge. 

Jacobsen, Jørn & Skilbrei, May-Len (2020). "Reforming the rape offence in Norwegian criminal law". Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice (BJCLCJ) 8(2), s. 78–94. DOI: 10.15845/bjclcj.v8i2.3240

Hansen, Maria; Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len (2020). "Non-reporting of sexual violence as action: acts, selves, futures in the making". Nordic Journal of Criminology. DOI: 10.1080/2578983X.2020.1867401.

Jahnsen, Synnøve Økland & Skilbrei, May-Len (2017). "Leaving no stone unturned: The borders and orders of transnational prostitution". British Journal of Criminology. ISSN 0007-0955. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azx028

Skilbrei, May-Len (2017). "Speaking the truth about prostitution", In Marlene Spanger & May-Len Østbye Skilbrei (ed.), Prostitution Research in Context: Methodology, Representation and Power. Routledge. ISBN 1138909483. Kapittel 3, s. 33–46.

Brunovskis, Anette & Skilbrei, May-Len (2016). "Two Birds with One Stone? Implications of conditional assistance in victim protection and prosecution of traffickers". Anti-Trafficking Review, issue 6. ISSN 2287-0113. DOI: 10.14197/atr.20121662.

Skilbrei, May-Len (2016). "Rettighetskamper i prostitusjonsfeltet: Hvem sin rett til hva står på spill?", I: Ingunn Ikdahl & Vibeke Blaker Strand (red.), Rettigheter i velferdsstaten. Begreper, trender, teorier. Gyldendal Juridisk.  ISBN 978-82-05-48452-8. Kapittel 8, s. 183–201.

Houge, Anette Bringedal; Lohne, Kjersti & Skilbrei, May-Len (2015). "Gender and crime revisited: criminological gender research on international and transnational crime and crime control". Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention. ISSN 1404-3858. DOI: 10.1080/14043858.2015.1045730

Skilbrei, May-Len & Holmström, Charlotta (2013). Prostitution Policy in the Nordic Region. Ambiguous Sympathies. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-4426-8.

Skilbrei, May-Len (2012). "Sisters in crime: Representations of gender and class in the media coverage and court proceedings of the triple homicide at Orderud Farm". Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal. ISSN 1741-6590. DOI: 10.1177/1741659012461040.

Skilbrei, May-Len (2012). "The Development of Norwegian Prostitution Policies: A Marriage of Convenience Between Pragmatism and Principles". Sexuality Research & Social Policy. ISSN 1553-6610. 9(3), s. 244–257. DOI: 10.1007/s13178-012-0096-z.

Jacobsen, Christine M. & Skilbrei, May-Len (2010). "'Reproachable Victims'? Representations and Self-representations of Russian Women Involved in Transnational Prostitution". Ethnos. ISSN 0014-1844. 75(2), s. 190–212. DOI: 10.1080/00141841003764013.

Skilbrei, May-Len (2010). "Taking trafficking to court". Women & Criminal Justice. ISSN 0897-4454. 20, s. 40–56. DOI: 10.1080/08974451003641438.

• Solbrække, Kari Nyheim; Skilbrei, May-Len & Holen, Mari (2026). Pasientorganisasjoners mobilisering av brukerkunnskap: en utforskning av pasientaktivismes maktpotensial i norsk kontekst. Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift. 10(1), p. 1–16. doi: 10.18261/nost.10.1.2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Det har de siste årene utviklet seg en sterk norm om å involvere brukere i planleggingen, utførelsen og formidlingen av forskning. Dette gjelder spesielt medisinsk og helsefaglig forskning, men også samfunnsvitenskapelige forskere forventes ofte å ha planer og prosedyrer for å inkludere brukere i forskning. Innen medisinsk og helsefaglig forskning utgjør denne endringen et brudd med det tradisjonelle biomedisinske kunnskapshierarkiet, hvor pasient- og brukerperspektivet lenge har vært lavest rangert, om ikke neglisjert. I dag har vi å gjøre med et mer tydelig demokratisk ideal, nemlig at pasientenes stemmer og perspektiver også skal inkluderes i den medisinske og helsefaglige kunnskapsproduksjonen, for derigjennom å skape et mer inkluderende og perspektivrikt grunnlag for diagnostisering og behandling. Selv om det finnes noe internasjonal forskning på hvordan deltakelse har blitt inkludert i og påvirket medisinsk helseforskning, er pasientaktivistisk involvering i denne typen kunnskapsproduksjon ikke undersøkt i en norsk kontekst. I denne artikkelen belyser vi Kreftforeningen, ADHD Norge og Endometrioseforeningen og deres nettsider, for å utforske hvordan slik aktivisme kan ta form i dagens Norge. I siste del av artikkelen reiser vi spørsmålet om i hvilken grad det demokratiserende premisset som bruker- og pasientperspektivet opprinnelig var basert på, utfyller biomedisinsk ekspertkunnskap eller ikke. Dette er et spørsmål som fortjener større sosiologisk interesse og belysning, ikke minst i lys av dagens diskusjoner om hvordan man kan forstå nye former for makt og demokrati i det norske samfunnet.

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). Rettshjelp mellom juss og politikk: saksbehandleren som student, kunnskapsprodusent, politisk aktør og rettshjelper. In Hellum, Anne; Grønningsæter, Andrea Vige; Stokke, Mira Sofie & Patursson, Frøydis (Ed.), 50 år i frontlinjen for kvinners rettigheter. Festskrift for Juridisk rådgivning for kvinner (JURK). Gyldendal Norsk Forlag A/S. ISSN 9788205607873. p. 391–405. doi: https:/www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/119101. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Stefansen, Kari & Pedersen, Synnøve Aursand (2025). Rettferdig straff for voldtekt. In Skilbrei, May-Len; Stefansen, Kari & Dullum, Jane Vibeke (Ed.), Et voldsfelt i bevegelse: Rettslige virkemidler og institusjonelle ordninger. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202879921. p. 165–187. doi: 10.23865/cdf.246.ch8. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Over the last three decades, the understanding of and approach to rape as a criminal offence has undergone considerable change in Norwegian society. The legal definition has broadened, and punishment levels have increased. The legitimacy of legislation and punishment rests on their resonance with the views of the population on what is right and just, which in turn raises the question of how such resonance can be achieved. In this chapter we explore notions of justice after rape based on analysis of focus group interviews with youth and young adults. We find that the participants’ views on justice after rape combine several concerns: Society’s approach to rape should meet the needs of society as well as those of the offender and the victim, and participants recognise that achieving this end mandates a balancing act and argues for a combination of measures.

• Skilbrei, May-Len; Dullum, Jane Vibeke & Stefansen, Kari (2025). Mer enn lovgivning. Rettslige virkemidler mot vold og krenkelser. In Skilbrei, May-Len; Stefansen, Kari & Dullum, Jane Vibeke (Ed.), Et voldsfelt i bevegelse: Rettslige virkemidler og institusjonelle ordninger. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202879921. p. 9–26. doi: 10.23865/cdf.246.ch1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

   

• Bakketeig, Elisiv & Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). Kunsten å lage en handlingsplan: Samordning som problem i arbeidet mot vold i nære relasjoner. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning (TfS). ISSN 0040-716X. 66(4), p. 1–18. doi: 10.18261/tfs.66.4.1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Å utvikle en helhetlig og samordnet politikk på feltet vold i nære relasjoner har vært fremhevet av norske myndigheter som en målsetting og en utfordring i årevis. Samtidig burde det vært spesielt gode forutsetninger for å oppnå en helhetlig og samordnet politikk på feltet vold i nære relasjoner, fordi det lenge har hersket en sterk tverrpolitisk enighet om å bekjempe denne volden. Likevel slås det gang på gang fast at denne målsettingen ikke blir oppnådd. Den vanligste forklaringen er at norsk statsforvaltning er sterkt sektorisert. Analyser av intervjuer med forvaltningsaktører om deres erfaringer med å utvikle handlingsplaner på dette feltet viser at sektorforklaringen er viktig, men også at svaret er langt mer sammensatt. Våre analyser viser at potensialet for å sikre en helhetlig politikk på feltet ligger i relasjonen mellom to styringslogikker. Den sektororganiserte og hierarkiske logikken er viktig for å sikre økonomisk støtte «oppover» og faglig og institusjonell forankring «nedover» i hver sektor. Den sektorovergripende og nettverksbaserte logikken er viktig fordi den bygger på et kunnskapsfellesskap som er opparbeidet over tid, og som er viktig for at deltakerne skal jobbe sammen mot et felles mål (handlingsplanen). Fellesskapet skaper en tillit mellom deltakerne som er viktig for å kunne akseptere at noen aktører har mer innflytelse enn andre og dermed har mulighet til å navigere på nettverkets vegne innenfor den hierarkiske logikken. Slik er fellesskapet og tilliten viktige forutsetninger for at hierarki og nettverk trekker i samme retning.

• Dullum, Jane Vibeke & Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). I forkant av volden: Beskyttelse mot vold i nære relasjoner. In Skilbrei, May-Len; Stefansen, Kari & Dullum, Jane Vibeke (Ed.), Et voldsfelt i bevegelse: Rettslige virkemidler og institusjonelle ordninger. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202879921. p. 73–98. doi: 10.23865/cdf.246.ch4. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Vold i nære relasjoner og seksuelle krenkelser er i dag prioriterte politikkområder i Norge. Denne boka undersøker de rettslige og institusjonelle sidene ved det som etter hvert har vokst fram som et eget tiltaksfelt, voldsfeltet. Voldsfeltet har gjennomgått store endringer over tid og denne utviklingen representerer overordnet en betydelig investering og framgang i arbeidet mot vold i nære relasjoner og seksuelle krenkelser, men de valgte løsningene skaper også nye utfordringer. Kapitlene i boka belyser både hvordan rettslige virkemidler og institusjonelle ordninger er utformet og virker, og diskuterer styrker og ulemper de kan ha.

• Jon, Nina & Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Maskulinitet som voldens kulturelle stillas: Samfunnets forståelse av menns vold mot menn. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning (TfS). ISSN 0040-716X. 65(4), p. 227–243. doi: 10.18261/tfs.65.4.2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Til tross for at menns vold mot menn er utbredt og forårsaker mye skade og frykt, er slik vold i liten grad gjenstand for politisk bekymring eller forskeres oppmerksomhet. I denne artikkelen retter vi søkelyset mot menns vold mot menn og undersøker hvordan den blir behandlet i to sammenhenger, nemlig i retten og i media. Vi analyserer hvordan menns vold mot menn presenteres og tolkes i norske lagmannsretter (2015–2020) og i norske medier (2000–2020). Vi finner at voldens sosiale dynamikk, i form av gjensidighet og hvordan den følger av menns sosiale relasjoner, er en viktig komponent i domstolens behandling av menns vold mot menn. Domstolene diskuterer ofte ansvaret for volden som delt mellom utøver og offer, eller i hvert fall begrunnet i forståelige sosiale relasjoner mellom menn. Media forteller en enkel fortelling om menns vold mot menn, både i den forstand at mediedekningen er knapp og overflatisk, og at den behandler spørsmål om årsaker og konsekvenser summarisk. Vi analyserer funnene i lys av betydningen av maskulinitetsnormer. Selv om vold strider mot sentrale verdier i samfunnet, indikerer håndteringen av volden at den også normaliseres, så lenge den utøves mellom menn, og mellom menn som står i et likestilt forhold til hverandre.

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Human Trafficking Policies in Scandinavia: What Happens When International Obligations Meet National Problem Definitions? In Rodrigues, Anabela Miranda & Guia, Maria João (Ed.), New Forms of Human Trafficking. Global South Highlights and Local Contexts on Sexual and Labor Exploitation. Springer. ISSN 9783031397318. p. 75–91. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-39732-5_5. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Om blindsoner, utkikkspunkt og epistemologiske fellesskap: Hva kan gjøres for å skape ny kunnskap? In Mangset, Marte; Ihlebæk, Hanna Marie; Nordberg, Tanja Haraldsdottir & Leseth, Anne Birgitte (Ed.), Tett på profesjon, arbeid og politikk: Kvalitative metodeutfordringer og verktøy for å løse dem. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202795009. p. 239–255. doi: 10.23865/noasp.210.ch13. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There are many barriers for researchers’ attempts to offer new insights. Categories, perspectives and the needs of the present play a part in forming what researchers see, think and write. In this chapter I present examples from my own and others’ research in order to explore the dynamics of how such impact plays out. Lack of recognition of how one’s thinking is shaped by definitions and assumptions derived from our present situation means that researchers easily end up acting as problem solvers instead of contributing by identifying new problems and offering new analysis and insights. There is thus much to gain, for both the researcher and society, if research is able to go beyond contemporary understandings, and I end the chapter by presenting possible avenues for realizing this potential.

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Hvem sin side er jeg på? Forskningsetiske dilemmaer i politiserte forskningsfelt. In Houge, Anette Bringedal & Kruse, Anja Emilie (Ed.), Etisk ubehag. En ærlig lærebok om kvalitativ forskning på sensitive temaer. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215068558. p. 211–227. Full text in Research Archive
• Kruse, Anja Emilie & Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). The monster and the self: Taking on the monstrosity of sexual violations. Punishment & Society. ISSN 1462-4745. 26(5), p. 840–859. doi: 10.1177/14624745231221933. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The contemporary normative climate regarding sexual violence affects how perpetrators of such violence relate to their harmful acts. In this article, we analyze how men convicted of sex offences are affected by how perpetrators of such offences are often represented as monsters and ask what this tells us about what characterizes the Monster as a figure. While people convicted of sexual offences are likened to monsters in many contexts, there is little research that unpacks the characteristics of this figure and how it is contingent on ideas about and the regulation of sex offending. By analyzing data from qualitative interviews with 17 men convicted of sexual offences in Norway, we found that, although they presented themselves and the acts they were convicted of committing differently, they had a common fear of being identified as a monster. In these narratives, a monster was characterized by (1) intentionality—having intentionally harmed others, (2) preference—having a sexual preference for harmful, nonconsensual sex, and (3) authenticity—being authentically violent. We conceive of the narrative processes that the participants engage in as forms of social abjection and discuss the consequences that abjection may have for accountability, rehabilitation, and justice.

• Laugerud, Solveig & Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Contested, Discounted and Disproven Stories of Rape: The Social Pathways of Rape Reporting. British Journal of Criminology. ISSN 0007-0955. 64(4), p. 964–979. doi: 10.1093/bjc/azad076. Full text in Research Archive
• Goyes, David Rodriguez & Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Rich scholar, poor scholar: inequalities in research capacity, “knowledge” abysses, and the value of unconventional approaches to research. Crime, law and social change. ISSN 0925-4994. p. 1–20. doi: 10.1007/s10611-023-10105-x. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract The dominance of modern rationality in knowledge production implies that the distribution of intellectual capital highly depends on the capacity to gather representative data and generate generalizable theses. Furthermore, as research becomes more formalized and dominated by large funding schemes, intellectual capital allocation is increasingly associated with high economic, labor force and institutional power. This phenomenon has consequences at the global level. As the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has documented, there are significant disparities between countries in research capacities, with a marked difference between “core” countries with semi-monopolies over sanctioned knowledge production and “peripheral” states primarily used as data mines. The core–periphery divide in research capacity brings about what decolonial theorists call knowledge abysses : the widespread idea that core countries are the ultimate knowledge producers and thus the legitimate guides in humanity’s road to “progress.” In that context, the democratization of knowledge and the prevention of neo-colonial dynamics require the development of cheaper and more accessible ways of collecting representative data. In this article, we make a call for innovations in methods that can serve to overcome this, and we illustrate possible avenues for achieving sound research without incurring high financial costs by describing and discussing our experiences in researching narco-violence in Colombia and prostitution in Russia with what we call the “taxi method.”

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Moving desire: Multiple lives and desires in border-crossing prostitution, Borders of desire Gender and sexuality at the Eastern borders of Europe. Manchester University Press. ISSN 9781526165206. p. 80–95. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Brysomt samtykke. In Ikdahl, Ingunn; Sandberg, Kirsten; Stewart, Julie; Strand, Vibeke Blaker & Wærstad, Tone Linn (Ed.), Hellums metode. Festskrift til Anne Hellum 70 år. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205582859. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len & Valland, Tatanya (2023). Politiet og kroppen: Kroppsundersøkelse i politiets profesjonsutøvelse. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift (NNT). ISSN 0800-336X. 40(4), p. 247–268. doi: 10.18261/nnt.40.4.2. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Samtycke till sexuell risk - sexuellt självskadebeteende som problem, Perspektiv på sexualitet i socialt arbete. Liber. ISSN 9789147143535. p. 65–81. Full text in Research Archive
• Hellum, Anne; Skilbrei, May-Len & Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora (2022). Kjønn, makt og rett: Samfunnsfaglige perspektiver på og i kvinneretten. In Ikdahl, Ingunn; Hellum, Anne; Asland, John; Bruserud, Herman; Hjort, Maria Astrup; Jonassen, Bjørk Gudmundsdottir & Skilbrei, May-Len (Ed.), Kjønn og rett. Kvinne-, kjønns- og likestillingsperspektiver i jusstudiet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202669690. p. 361–392. doi: 10.23865/noasp.164. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kvinne-, kjønns- og likestillingsperspektiver på retten har en lang tradisjon som forskningsfelt på Det juridiske fakultet ved Universitetet i Oslo. Retten regulerer rettigheter og plikter, rettsvern og straff – den kan skape, opprettholde og endre samfunnets fordeling av makt og ressurser mellom individer og grupper. En viktig del av samfunnsoppdraget til juristutdanningen er å skape forståelse for hvordan rettslige strukturer, regler og avgjørelser kan føre til – eller motvirke – ulikhet og diskriminering. Denne boken bringer ulike typer kjønnsperspektiv inn i en rekke av fagene som inngår i rettsvitenskapen. Artiklene omfatter både privatrettslige og offentligrettslige emner, som familierett, forvaltningsrett, velferdsrett, avtalerett, selskapsrett og strafferett. Boken inneholder også kjønnsperspektiv på tverrgående fag som rettsfilosofi, rettssosiologi, kriminologi, rettsøkonomi og yrkesetikk for jurister. Kjønn og rett: Kvinne-, kjønns- og likestillingsperspektiver i jusstudiet er skrevet primært med tanke på jusstudenter, men er relevant for alle som interesserer seg for forholdet mellom juss, kjønn, samfunn og politikk.

• Skilbrei, May-Len & Crowhurst, Isabel (2022). Swedish, Nordic, European: The journey of a ‘model’ to abolish prostitution. In Lohne, Kjersti; Christensen, Mikkel Jarle & Hörnqvist, Magnus (Ed.), Nordic Criminal Justice in a Global Context: Practices and Promotion of Exceptionalism. Routledge. ISSN 9781032049793. doi: 10.4324/9781003195504. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In presenting the increasing global popularity and application of the ‘Swedish model', this chapter shows how key ideas underpinning it evolved and were adapted over time, and how currently the adoption of its multiple interpretations is pursued by countries with limited or no proximity and little socio-economic, political, and social welfare resemblance to the Nordic region. In its multiple redefinitions as Swedish, Nordic, pan-European, end demand, or equality ‘model' it has acquired potent symbolic capital globally, serving as a tool of convergence and consensus for the many who ascribe to it a superior moral status and who view it as the solution to the ‘problem of prostitution'. The precedent for prostitution policy conformity in modern Europe takes us back to the 19th century, when the widespread optimism about the effectiveness of regulationism resulted in the containment and regulation of prostitution across many European cities.

• Jahnsen, Synnøve Økland & Skilbrei, May-Len (2022). Red lights for prostitution: Policing the Purchase of Sex in Norway. In Darley, Mathilde (Eds.), Trafficking and Sex Work Gender, Race and Public Order. Routledge. ISSN 9781032037851. Full text in Research Archive
• Guia, Maria João & Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Justice Gaps for Female Migrants. In Fouskas, Theodoros (Eds.), Immigrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Times of Crises: A. An International Handbook on Migration and Refugee Studies, Management Policies and Governance. European Public Law Organization. ISSN 9786185417116. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Keeping Sweden on top: Rape and legal innovation as nation-branding. In Larsen, Eirinn; Moss, Sigrun Marie & Skjelsbæk, Inger (Ed.), Gender Equality and Nation Branding in the Nordic Region. Routledge. ISSN 9780367861353. p. 75–89. doi: 10.4324/9781003017134-4. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter explores how rape legislation has been used as nation-branding to keep Sweden on top, and how the desire to remain a norm entrepreneur impacted on legal revisions. Sweden's legislation on gender and violence has been presented as an important political achievement, but it has also partly led to an increase of reported rapes. Sweden has prioritized bringing an end to men's violence against women, including sexual violence, for several decades, and the issue has been put at the top of the agenda by various white papers and, not least, a series of legislative changes. Having an established reputation as a nation that can protect its citizens from harm, including sexual harm, grants a degree of superiority in an international political climate that increasingly emphasizes protection of rights. Rape laws are difficult to prosecute in countries with and without consent-based laws.

• Langford, Malcolm & Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Branding the Nordic model of prostitution policy. In Byrkjeflot, Haldor; Mjøset, Lars; Mordhorst, Mads & Petersen, Klaus (Ed.), The Making and Circulation of Nordic Models, Ideas and Images. Routledge. ISSN 9781003156925. p. 165–191. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Bjønness, Jeanett & Nencel, Lorraine (2021). Reconfiguring Stigma in Sex Work Studies and Beyond: Putting Relationality to Work. In Skilbrei, May-Len; Bjønness, Jeanett & Nencel, Lorraine (Ed.), Reconfiguring stigma in studies in sex for sale. Routledge. ISSN 9781138613065. doi: 10.4324/9780429464805-1. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len & Bjønness, Jeanett (2021). Resignifying the Client in Search of Respectability. In Skilbrei, May-Len; Bjønness, Jeanett & Nencel, Lorraine (Ed.), Reconfiguring stigma in studies in sex for sale. Routledge. ISSN 9781138613065. doi: 10.4324/9780429464805-9. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len & Holmström, Charlotta (2021). Linking Prostitution and Human Trafficking Policies: The Nordic Experience. In Nelen, Hans & Siegel, Dina (Ed.), Contemporary Organized Crime: Developments, Challenges and Responses- Second edition. Springer. ISSN 9783030565923. p. 67–80. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2020). Taking on the categories, terms and worldviews of the powerful: the pitfalls of trying to be relevant. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. ISSN 1070-289X. doi: 10.1080/1070289X.2020.1805884. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Researchers have many incentives to make sure that the work they do is relevant to policymakers and implementers. First, it may secure them funding; second, ‘impact’ is part and parcel of academic evaluations; and third, researchers are often attracted by the prospect of doing work that matters and that contributes towards social justice. Moreover, the mandate and urge to be relevant are central to governments’ capacity to formulate effective and just policies, but this may also constitute an epistemological challenge by creating blind spots. In this article, I explore key challenges that emerge from the relationship between policy and research. I take as a starting point my own experiences as a migration scholar, who mainly conducts research on migration to Norway and the development and implementation of Norwegian migration policies, and use these to reflect on the consequences of external and internal pressures on research to be relevant and have an impact.

• Jacobsen, Jørn & Skilbrei, May-Len (2020). Reforming the rape offence in Norwegian criminal law. Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice (BJCLCJ). 8(2), p. 78–94. doi: 10.15845/bjclcj.v8i2.3240. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article addresses the content, context and development of the Norwegian rape offence to frame and explain current reform discussions. The authors describe how the offence has gradually expanded over time by partial reforms, the last in 2000, leading up to the contemporary stand of law. The article shows that the role and priorities of the feminist movement has had consequences for how the rape offence has developed. There are currently debates on whether to further revise the rape offence. While debaters share the view that rape is a serious offence and that more should be done to combat it, they are divided in how they see the potential and role of law; some debaters emphasise law as a practical instrument, others instead focus more on its symbolic functions. The authors argue that both perspectives are legitimate and needed, and see this acknowledgment as key for moving debates forward.

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2020). Criminological Lessons on/from Sexual Violence. In Walklate, Sandra; Fitz-Gibbon, Kate; McCulloch, Jude & Maher, Jane Maree (Ed.), The Emerald Handbook of Feminism, Criminology and Social Change. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. ISSN 9781787699564. doi: 10.1108/978-1-78769-955-720201029. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Feminist criminologists are well acquainted with how their research on sexual harms and gendered forms of victimisation may serve as powerful levers for punitive agendas. In recent years, culturalist interpretations of sexual violence have become key themes in debates on migration and integration in liberal welfare democracies, such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In this, complex issues of gender, ethnicity and power are involved, and the balancing of these, both analytically and ethically, poses a challenge to feminists in their attempts to contribute to social change. This chapter will, based on examples from debates in Sweden, present and discuss how argumentation about sexual freedom and integrity is enlisted in attempts to reinforce borders and ideas about dangerous Others, and outline how a fruitful meeting between criminology and feminism can advance the scholarship on sexual violence.

• Hansen, Maria; Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len (2020). Non-reporting of sexual violence as action: acts, selves, futures in the making. Nordic Journal of Criminology. ISSN 2578-983X. doi: 10.1080/2578983X.2020.1867401. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Individual, cultural and structural barriers exist in reporting rape to the police. Our study’s context is Norway, where reporting is more accepted than before and is even encouraged. Still, few who experience rape report the incident. Based on qualitative interviews we examine how women who refrain from reporting rapes give their choice meaning. We draw from Boltanski and Thévenot’s version of cultural sociology, especially the idea that meaning-making in concrete situations relates to wider ‘regimes of justification’: particular framings that render choices and interpretations intelligible. The aftermath of rape leaves women with having to balance their own and others’ needs and expectations. In talking about the rape and how they afterwards manoeuvre to reconcile conflicting norms and needs, the women activate two different regimes of justification; an instrumental and an ontological. They negotiate between expectations set out in an instrumental regime of justification, focusing on acts and actions, and a more ontological regime of justification, wherein focus lies on their sense of self and future identities. They position themselves as ‘evolving selves’, a position from where they are able to prevent further ruptures by deploying a developmental logic rather than answering the call to ‘do the right thing’ and report.

• Skilbrei, May-Len & Bakketeig, Elisiv (2019). Child Sexual Abuse. In Langford, Malcolm; Skivenes, Marit & Søvig, Karl Harald (Ed.), Children’s Rights in Norway: An Implementation Paradox?. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215031422. p. 136–164. doi: 10.18261/9788215031415-2019-05. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Norway tops international indexes on children’s rights but continues to attract criticism for its level of compliance with the Convention of the Rights of Child. This book is the first scholarly attempt to address this implementation paradox. The authors ask: What is the current level of implementation? How can we explain any gap in perceived performance? Can we improve our measurement of children’s rights? With the use of quantitative and qualitative methods, the volume examines a wide range of areas relevant to children’s rights. These include child protection and sexual violence, detention and policing, poverty and custody proceedings, asylum and disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and childcare and human rights education. In addition, the book offers a proposal for an alternative statistical approach to measuring Norway’s performance. The book’s editors conclude by pointing towards the complex set of factors that complicate full realisation and the need for the Government to engage in proper measurement of implementation.

• Skilbrei, May-Len Østbye (2019). Assessing the Power of Prostitution Policies to Shift Markets, Attitudes, and Ideologies. Annual Review of Criminology. 2, p. 493–508. doi: 10.1146/annurev-criminol-011518-024623. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). Criminological perspectives on human trafficking. In Mitsilegas, Valsamis; Hufnagel, Saskia & Moiseienko, Anton (Ed.), Research Handbook on Transnational Crime. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781784719432. p. 236–246. doi: 10.4337/9781784719449.00024. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Stefansen, Kari & Heinskou, Marie Bruvik (2019). A Nordic research agenda on rape and sexual violence. In Heinskou, Marie Bruvik; Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len (Ed.), Rape in the Nordic Countries: Continuity and Change. Routledge. ISSN 9780429467608. p. 1–17. doi: 10.4324/9780429467608-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book illustrates some of the difficulties in measuring rape in population surveys. It addresses legal responses to rape in the Nordic countries, which is an important strand of Nordic scholarship on rape: something that perhaps reflects that legal strategies have long been the priority of both Nordic governments and of women’s movements. The book explores a legal reform two decades in the making and looks at the interaction between the law-revision process, public debates and the role of the sanctity of family and home in Finnish culture. It analyses the trajectory of Swedish debates on rape law in the period 1990–2015. This was a period in which rape law underwent major revisions designed to solve problems in prosecuting rape in expressing understandings of the harm of rape. The book investigates situational descriptions of sexual transgressions from the perspective of the transgressor.

• Paasche, Erlend; Skilbrei, May-Len & Plambech, Sine (2018). Vulnerable Here or There? Examining the vulnerability of victims of human trafficking before and after return. Anti-Trafficking Review. ISSN 2287-0113. p. 34–51. doi: 10.14197/atr.201218103. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article deals with how return programmes for rejected asylum seekers and irregular migrants construct and create vulnerabilities.Few studies have exploredthe role of assistance provided through such programmes for the sex worker returnees and victims of traffickingwho return through them. Even fewer holistically examine a return programme through data elicited in both destination and originlocations, before and after return. That is what we aim to do in this article. We first look at the legal-bureaucratic construction of vulnerability in a host state, Norway, and the systemic logic of its efforts to return victims of trafficking. We then look at how returnees narrate their experiences of and perspectives on vulnerabilityupon return to their country of origin, Nigeria. This study, together with the broader research within this field, indicates that flaws in programme implementation can in fact exacerbate vulnerabilities rather than help returnees overcome them.

• Brunovskis, Anette & Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). Individual or Structural Inequality? Access and Barriers in Welfare Services for Women Who Sell Sex. Social Inclusion. 6(3), p. 310–318. doi: 10.17645/si.v6i3.1534. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is often taken for granted that women who sell sex are vulnerable, that welfare services can and should alleviate this vulnerability, and as such, being defined as ‘vulnerable’ can be beneficial and associated with special rights that would otherwise be inaccessible. At the same time, ongoing debates have demonstrated that establishing individuals and groups as vulnerable tends to mask structural factors in inequality and has negative consequences, among them an idea that the path to ‘non-vulnerability’ lies in changing the ‘afflicted’ individuals or groups, not in structures or in addressing unequal access to resources. In this article, we take this as a starting point and discuss challenges for the welfare state in meeting the varied and often complex needs of sex sellers. Based on qualitative research with service providers in specialised social and health services in Norway, we examine access and barriers to services among female sex sellers as well as how vulnerability is understood and shapes what services are available. An important feature of modern prostitution in Norway, as in the rest of Western Europe, is that sex sellers are predominantly migrants with varying migration status and corresponding rights to services. This has influenced the options available to address prostitution as a phenomenon within the welfare state and measures that have previously been helpful for domestic women in prostitution are not easily replicated for the current target population. A starting point in a theoretical understanding that considers vulnerability to be a human predicament (rather than the exception to the rule or a deficit in individuals or groups) allows for a discussion that highlights the centrality of structural conditions rather than a need for change in the individual. In order to understand the limitations of the welfare state in addressing modern prostitution as such, it is highly relevant to look at the structural origin of vulnerabilities that may look individual.

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). Manoeuvring in tricky waters: Challenges in being a useful and critical migration scholar. In Jahnsen, Synnøve Økland; Powel, Rebecca & Fili, Andriani (Ed.), Criminal justice research in an era of mass mobility. Routledge. ISSN 9781138284128. doi: 10.4324/9781315269771-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In the last few years, the aim for research to have a societal ‘impact’ has become increasingly central. This can entail ‘emancipatory’ or ‘critical’ research but is often interpreted as being ‘relevant’ and ‘instrumental’ to powerful institutions. This is a development that creates dilemmas for criminologists working in the nexus of crime and immigration. In contemporary Europe, migration is often presented as a problem per se, and research is easily enlisted in political and bureaucratic efforts to reduce the mobility or ability of vulnerable groups of migrants to stay. While this entails ethical dilemmas, the push towards ‘impact’ also creates more epistemological ones as our ability to reflect critically on the current may be hampered by how we are often expected to work closely with funders and other stakeholders. In this chapter I describe and discuss dilemmas of entanglements with the state’s administrative and managerial agendas in my own practice as a migration and crime scholar.

• Jahnsen, Synnøve Økland & Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). Leaving no stone unturned: The borders and orders of transnational prostitution. British Journal of Criminology. ISSN 0007-0955. 58(2), p. 255–272. doi: 10.1093/bjc/azx028. Full text in Research Archive
• Ystehede, Per Jørgen & Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). “Down on whores”. Considering representations of Jack the Ripper’s victims. In Crowhurst, Isabel; dewey, susan & Izugbara, Chimaraoke (Ed.), The Routledge International Handbook of Sex Industry Research. Routledge. ISSN 9781351133906. doi: 10.4324/9781351133913-48. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2026). Menneskehandel. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245061918. 240 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Stefansen, Kari & Dullum, Jane Vibeke (2025). Et voldsfelt i bevegelse: Rettslige virkemidler og institusjonelle ordninger. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202879921. 241 p. doi: 10.23865/cdf.246. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Vold i nære relasjoner og seksuelle krenkelser er i dag prioriterte politikkområder i Norge. Denne boka undersøker de rettslige og institusjonelle sidene ved det som etter hvert har vokst fram som et eget tiltaksfelt, voldsfeltet. Voldsfeltet har gjennomgått store endringer over tid og denne utviklingen representerer overordnet en betydelig investering og framgang i arbeidet mot vold i nære relasjoner og seksuelle krenkelser, men de valgte løsningene skaper også nye utfordringer. Kapitlene i boka belyser både hvordan rettslige virkemidler og institusjonelle ordninger er utformet og virker, og diskuterer styrker og ulemper de kan ha.

• Lomell, Heidi Mork & Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Kriminologi. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 9788215071992. 300 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Kvalitative metoder Planlegging, gjennomføring og etisk refleksjon 2. utgave. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245042863. Full text in Research Archive
• Ikdahl, Ingunn; Hellum, Anne; Asland, John; Bruserud, Herman; Hjort, Maria Astrup & Jonassen, Bjørk Gudmundsdottir [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2022). Kjønn og rett. Kvinne-, kjønns- og likestillingsperspektiver i jusstudiet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202669690. 430 p. doi: 10.23865/noasp.164. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kvinne-, kjønns- og likestillingsperspektiver på retten har en lang tradisjon som forskningsfelt på Det juridiske fakultet ved Universitetet i Oslo. Retten regulerer rettigheter og plikter, rettsvern og straff – den kan skape, opprettholde og endre samfunnets fordeling av makt og ressurser mellom individer og grupper. En viktig del av samfunnsoppdraget til juristutdanningen er å skape forståelse for hvordan rettslige strukturer, regler og avgjørelser kan føre til – eller motvirke – ulikhet og diskriminering. Denne boken bringer ulike typer kjønnsperspektiv inn i en rekke av fagene som inngår i rettsvitenskapen. Artiklene omfatter både privatrettslige og offentligrettslige emner, som familierett, forvaltningsrett, velferdsrett, avtalerett, selskapsrett og strafferett. Boken inneholder også kjønnsperspektiv på tverrgående fag som rettsfilosofi, rettssosiologi, kriminologi, rettsøkonomi og yrkesetikk for jurister. Kjønn og rett: Kvinne-, kjønns- og likestillingsperspektiver i jusstudiet er skrevet primært med tanke på jusstudenter, men er relevant for alle som interesserer seg for forholdet mellom juss, kjønn, samfunn og politikk.

• FitzGerald, Sharron & Skilbrei, May-Len (2022). Sexual politics in contemporary Europe: Moving targets, sitting ducks. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783030911744. 136 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Bjønness, Jeanett & Nencel, Lorraine (2021). Reconfiguring stigma in studies in sex for sale. Routledge. ISBN 9781138613065. 226 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Haugen, Heidi Østbø & Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Håndbok i forskningsetikk og databehandling. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245034516. 233 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). Kvalitative metoder. Planlegging, gjennomføring og etisk refleksjon. Fagbokforlaget. Full text in Research Archive
• Heinskou, Marie Bruvik; Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). Rape in the Nordic Countries: Continuity and Change. Routledge. ISBN 9780429467608. 262 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  While the Nordic countries are listed at the top in most international rankings of gender equality and citizens’ feelings of security, studies on the prevalence of sexual victimisation present a different picture, suggesting that the very countries that have invested much in establishing gender equality actually see a high prevalence of sexual violence. This book sheds light on the phenomenon and construction of rape and other forms of sexual violence within the Nordic region, exploring the ways in which rape and sexual violence are dealt with through criminal law and considering governmental policies aimed at combatting it, with a special focus on legal regulations and developments. Thematically organised, it offers new research on perpetrators, victimhood, criminal justice and prevention. Multi-disciplinary in approach, it brings together the latest work from a range of scholars to offer insights into the situation in the five Nordic countries, asking how and why rape and other forms of sexual violence occur, whilst also addressing the timely issues of online sexual cultures, BDSM and the grey areas of sexual offences. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, criminology and law with interests in gender and sexual violence

• Skilbrei, May-Len & Stefansen, Kari (2018). Seksuell vold. En samfunnsvitenskapelig innføring. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202550257. 211 p. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2026). Straffeloven normgivende funksjon i unges seksuelle relasjoner med jevnaldrende. Full text in Research Archive
• Jon, Nina & Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). Enqûete: Menns vold mot menn normaliseres i medier og domstoler. Fett. ISSN 1504-1921. p. 56–57. Full text in Research Archive
• Jon, Nina & Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). Forskere roper varsko om menns vold mot menn. [Internet]. Kilden. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Menns vold mot menn blir ikke tatt på alvor som et samfunnsproblem. Den fremstilles som noe som bare rammer enkeltindivider eller hører hjemme i visse miljøer, ifølge Nina Jon og Mai-Len Skilbrei. 

• Hellum, Anne & Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). Kvinneretten: En faglig suksess, en mulighet for fremtiden. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Diskusjon av forholdet mellom spesialisert forskning og mainstreaming innen kvinnerett som fagfelt

• Skilbrei, May-Len (2025). Michel Foucault. In Øversveen, Emil Mortensrud; Leiulfsrud, Håkon; Stuvøy, Ingvill & Tjora, Aksel (Ed.), Sosiologisk teori. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245044157. p. 193–203. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Forging common European values on rocky ground. In Befring, Anne Kjersti; Michalsen, Dag & Solli, Gunnhild Storbekkr�nning (Ed.), Grasping the Complexity of Law. Karnov Group Norway AS. ISSN 9788293816836. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Utfordringer ved forskning på seksuelle krenkelser. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Solbrække, Kari Nyheim & Holen, Mari (2024). Experience as Evidence: Patient organisations as knowledge agents. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). «Das Sexkaufverbot hat keinen nachweisbaren Nutzen». [Journal]. Tages-Anseiger. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Rettsikkerhet for unge menn: Thorbjørnsrud dramatiserer situasjonen. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Kommentar NOU 2024:4 Voldtekt - et uløst samfunnsproblem. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Panelsamtale: Seksualforbrytelser: Vår tids justismord? Full text in Research Archive
• Lomell, Heidi Mork & Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Hva er kriminologi? In Lomell, Heidi Mork & Skilbrei, May-Len (Ed.), Kriminologi. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215071992. p. 11–31. Full text in Research Archive
• Kanestrøm, Jorunn; Skilbrei, May-Len & Houge, Anette Bringedal (2024). Skal alle voldtekter anmeldes? Universitetsplassen [UiO podkast]. [Radio]. Universitetsplassen. Full text in Research Archive
• Bakketeig, Elisiv & Skilbrei, May-Len (2024). Samordning som ideal og praksis: Statlig styring av feltet ´vold i nære relasjoner`. Full text in Research Archive
• Laugerud, Solveig & Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). DNA-optimismens endelige fall? Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Urimelig og uredelig. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Kjønnsavdelingen #23 – Fra piskestraff til samtykkelov? [Internet]. Kildens podcast. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Nordisk kriminologi og strafferettsvitenskap: Nye tider, felles interesser? Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Paneldebatt: En prinsippstyrt straffelovgivning? Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len; Stubberud, Elisabeth & Løvdal, Lene (2023). Det er ikke overraskende at au pair-ordningen legges ned. Men finnes det alternativer? Full text in Research Archive
• Anna, Ratecka & Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Policy on domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Gender and law: women’s, gender and equality perspectives in legal education. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Skjult kamera mot barnemishandling. [Journal]. Magasinet Forskningsetikk. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Kommentar Nasjonal trygghetsundersøkelse 2022. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Regulating prostitution. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Feminism and criminal justice. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2023). Forging ‘common European values’ on rocky ground. Full text in Research Archive
• Berit, Johnsen; Frøyland, Lars Roar; Smith, Peter Scharff; Skilbrei, May-Len; Lundeberg, Ingrid Rindal & Sivertsson, Fredrik [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2023). Hatefulle ytringer. Full text in Research Archive
• Kaufmann, Mareile; Skilbrei, May-Len & Laugerud, Solveig (2022). Evidence in Motion Conference. Full text in Research Archive
• Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len (2022). Hvordan snakker vi om det? Full text in Research Archive
• Holter, Katrine & Skilbrei, May-Len (2022). Rett og Slett #36: Samtykkelov – Yay or Nay? [Radio]. Alle podkast-spillere. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Den som sier nei, gråter og snur seg bort, er ikke nødvendigvis vernet av dagens voldtektsparagraf. Er voldtektsbestemmelsen god nok? Hva er alternativene? Og hva vet vi om voldtekt som samfunnsproblem i Norge? I studio stiller professor May-Len Skilbrei (UiO), en av Norges fremste forskere på temaet seksuell vold.

• Hansen, Maria; Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len (2022). The moral burden of rape reporting. NSFK blog. Full text in Research Archive
• Stefansen, Kari & Skilbrei, May-Len Østbye (2021). Flinke ofre anmelder voldtekt – eller? Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Balancing impact with integrity as a migration scholar. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). The Power of Sexuality and Crime in Contemporary Migration Debates. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len & Guia, Maria João (2019). Justice gap for female migrants. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). Norwegian immigration policy. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). Det tosidige målet i arbeidet mot menneskehandel – dilemmaer. Full text in Research Archive
• Paasche, Erlend; Skilbrei, May-Len & Plambech, Sine (2019). What happens after victims of trafficking return to Nigeria? Full text in Research Archive
• Paasche, Erlend & Skilbrei, May-Len (2019). Human Trafficking, Migration and Borders Under Pressure. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). Transnational crimes, perpetrators and victims: How mobility challenges victim support and prosecution. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). Moving Desire. Multiple Lives and Desires in Border-Crossing Prostitution. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len (2018). Bortvisning EØS-borgere. Full text in Research Archive
• Skilbrei, May-Len & Jahnsen, Synnøve Økland (2018). The Borders and Orders of Transnational Prostitution. Full text in Research Archive
• Hansen, Maria; Skilbrei, May-Len & Skjelsbæk, Inger (2025). After sex: Exploring ambiguity in the aftermath of sex and rape. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This thesis examines ambiguity in the aftermath of casual (hetero)sex and rape. In the dominant Norwegian narrative about rape and sexual ethics, what distinguish ‘good’ sex from rape is the presence or absence of consent. Sex should be consensual, and sex without consent is considered rape. This narrative is designed to be pedagogical in its simplicity. However, many individuals find it difficult to label their own experiences of unwanted sex as rape. One way to understand this ambivalence and ambiguity is to examine the relationship between sex and self. What one does sexually—what one is attracted to, enjoys, accepts, and seeks—is often tied to one's sense of self, and influence how one is perceived by others. Thus, sex is a potentially transformative act, where sexual experiences can alter both personal and others' perceptions of oneself. This potential is particularly pronounced when sex does not proceed as intended, or when it goes wrong. Ambivalence and ‘the Grey Area’ The thesis delves into the so-called ‘grey area’ between sex and rape. This grey area encompasses sexual encounters that fit both, neither, or somehow occupy both categories of "sex" and "rape." To investigate how sex sometimes straddles these two categories, the thesis is based on 30 qualitative interviews with women (19) and men (11) about rape, as well as unwanted and confusing experiences with casual, alcohol-related casual sex. From these interviews, it appears that part of what contributes to ambivalence is the narrative that "sex without consent is rape,” which simplifies the relationship between sex and rape. Participants in this study find their experiences to be far more complex and ambiguous than the dominant narrative allows. What Happened, and Who Do I Become? The participants in this study largely relate their ambivalence and confusion not to whether their experiences involved consent or not, but to the context in which these experiences occurred and the potential consequences they may have for their lives. One of the main arguments of the thesis is that the frameworks, expectations, and personal perceptions of what is acceptable or unacceptable are shaped by one’s environment, who one is with, what one believes others will think, and the implications that sex may have for one's future. Consequently, participants’ ambivalence and confusion can be more readily understood in light of what happened prior to the unwanted sex, what they wanted to happen, and what they anticipate will happen afterward, rather than what transpired in the moment. Sex or Rape, Clarity or Confusion? When rape is defined as sex without consent, and when consent simultaneously constitutes the foundation of ‘good’ sex, sexual ethics and criminal law become intertwined. Operating with a clear-cut understanding of the relationship between sex and rape easily forces ambiguous experiences into one of two respective categories. An ambivalent experience is either rendered unambiguously ‘good’ or labeled as rape. If it is deemed ‘good,’ there is little room for doubt or confusion afterward. If classified as rape, the experience is characterized as ‘bad,’ which quickly triggers a cascade of expectations and obligations that can affect one’s personal life and foreseeable future. Thus, consent—intended to create clarity and clear distinctions—can contribute to further confusion and mess, as the dominant narrative often leaves little space for the complexities of lived life and experience.

• Frøyland, Lars Roar; Smith, Peter Scharff; Skilbrei, May-Len; Berit, Johnsen; Lundeberg, Ingrid Rindal & Sivertsson, Fredrik [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2022). Rettsoppfatning i Norge: Holdninger til straff og straffegjennomføring i den norske befolkningen. OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet. ISSN 9788278948132. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rapporten presenterer en kartlegging av holdninger til kriminalitet og straff i den norske befolkningen – deres rettsoppfatning. Befolkningens rettsoppfatning tillegges stor vekt både av politikere og profesjonelle aktører i rettssystemet. Kunnskap om hva folk faktisk mener om slike spørsmål, er dermed viktig for utviklingen av rettspolitikken i landet. Analysene viser at folk generelt oppgir at de ønsker strengere straffer, men samtidig undervurderer de kraftig det faktiske straffenivået i Norge i dag.

• Frøyland, Lars Roar; Solstad, Gerd Marie; Andersen, Patrick Lie; Tveito, Siri Berg; Folstad, Siri Hausland & Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Seksuelle overgrep mot barn og unge via digitale medier. En kunnskapsoppsummering. OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet. ISSN 9788278947777. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rapporten presenterer en kunnskapsoppsummering om seksuelle overgrep mot barn og unge via digitale medier. Særlig vektlegger rapporten hva vi vet om de som utsettes for slike overgrep, de som utøver dette, hvordan det skjer, hvorfor det skjer og hvordan det norske samfunnet håndterer hendelsene. Rapporten viser at seksuelle overgrep via digitale medier innbefatter et bredt spekter av handlinger med ulike forståelsesrammer og ulike aktører involvert. Variasjonen har betydning for hvordan hendelsene kan forstås og bør behandles politisk.

• Staksrud, Elisabeth; Kolstad, Ivar; Bang, Kirsten Johanne; Bomann-Larsen, Lene; Fretheim, Kjetil & Granaas, Rakel Christina [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2021). Forskningsetiske retningslinjer for samfunnsvitenskap og humaniora. De nasjonale forskningsetiske komiteene. ISSN 9788276821017. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Den nasjonale forskningsetiske komité for samfunnsvitenskap og humaniora (NESH) er et uavhengig og rådgivende organ, som har ansvar for å utarbeide nasjonale forskningsetiske retningslinjer. Den første utgaven av NESHs retningslinjer ble utgitt i 1993, og de har kommet i reviderte utgaver i 1999, 2006 og 2016. For mer om NESH og retningslinjene, se vedlegg. I denne utgaven har NESH valgt å fremheve og tydeliggjøre de grunnleggende forskningsetiske normene. Formålet er å fremheve NESHs retningslinjer som en selvstendig kilde til forskningsetisk refleksjon og kontinuering diskusjon i forskerfellesskapet. NESH har også presisert hvordan forskning i økende grad er under press, og hvordan ulike aktører som oppdragsgivere, finansiører og samarbeidspartnere har medansvar for å ivareta forskningsetikken. Videre er skillet mellom etikk og juss presisert for å tydeliggjøre grenseflatene mot henholdsvis gransking av vitenskapelig uredelighet og krav om rettsgrunnlag ved behandling av personopplysninger. Høsten 2020 ble det reviderte utkastet til nasjonale retningslinjer sendt på høring. NESH mottok over 60 innspill fra forskere, forskningsinstitusjoner og andre forskningsaktører. En arbeidsgruppe bestående av Elisabeth Staksrud (leder), Ivar Kolstad (nestleder) og Vidar Enebakk (sekretariatsleder) har gått gjennom alle innspill og utarbeidet forslag, som er grundig drøftet og vedtatt av alle medlemmene i komiteen.

• Hellebust, Marion; Smith, Peter Scharff; Lundeberg, Ingrid & Skilbrei, May-Len (2021). Lengst inne i fengselet – Kvinnelige innsatte med behov for helsehjelp. 7Letras. Full text in Research Archive

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