Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday

Legal loophole has allowed sex offenders to keep photos of victims

A loophole in Swedish legislation has meant that sex offenders can keep photos of victims they have abused even after conviction, according to a report from Swedish Radio Ekot. The Interior Minister said that the government is actively working on closing the loophole.

Currently police may seize suspects' computers but do not have the right to access cloud services if information is stored there, for example, rather than locally on the device.

The radio cited a case where a man served time in jail for offences including raping a 14-year-old girl, but kept pictures of her despite police seizing his devices. After serving his sentence, he contacted the victim and threatened to spread the images.

"In practice, it would often have been quite easy for us to access [files kept on the cloud], but we are not allowed to do it as the law looks in Sweden today," a prosecutor specialising in internet-related sexual crimes told the radio. 

Swedish vocabulary: cloud (meteorological or digital) – moln 

• How do Sweden’s rape statistics compare to Europe?

File photo from a demonstration against sexual violence: Bertil Ericson/Scanpix/TT

Which workers have been worst hit by Covid-19 in Sweden?

A new study by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine has looked at which professional groups have been disproportionately affected by severe cases of Covid-19.

People in jobs requiring in-person contact with others were high on the list, such as doctors, physiotherapists, nurses and sports coaches, but the worst affected group according to the study was driving instructors. Driving teachers were 2.7 times more likely than the general population on average to suffer a severe case of Covid-19, while the other high-risk groups such as doctors had almost twice the average risk, although the study was based on a small sample.

An earlier report on occupational groups by Sweden's Public Health Agency, based on national data, also found that people whose jobs required close contact were at higher risk from Covid-19. That study focused on healthcare jobs and teachers, but found that the group with the highest rate of ICU admission was "other occupations with high levels of contacts".

Swedish vocabulary: driving instructor – trafiklärare

• Coronavirus in Sweden: Which workers are most likely to test positive – or end up in ICU?

File photo of a driving instructor and pupil: Bertil Ericson/TT

Sweden to hit flights with ‘world’s first’ emissions-based charges

Sweden plans to become the first country in the world to impose charges on flights leaving and departing from its airports based on their level of emissions, the government has said.

Airlines would potentially pay a lower charge if their planes are more efficient, use biofuels or are flying a shorter distance.

Swedish vocabulary: aeroplane – flygplan

Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

Sweden delays decision on whether to restart AstraZeneca jab

Sweden will not decide whether to restart vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab until Thursday at the earliest, the country's public health agency has said.

"The decision will be taken on Thursday at the earliest," a spokesperson at the agency told The Local. "The work regarding this has been going on through the weekend, but I have no more details."

Swedish vocabulary: (at the) earliest – tidigast

Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT 

Has its different coronavirus strategy damaged the international view of Sweden?

A survey among residents of neighbouring countries shows that almost half have changed their view of Sweden over the past year, most (39 percent) for the worse.

Madeleine Sjöstedt, director general of the Swedish Institute which carried out the survey, told the TT newswire that the change was unsurprising given the coverage of Sweden's different coronavirus strategy. 

"Of course it's not good. But there is a very positive basic view and it is something to build on," she said.

Swedish vocabulary: the (outside) view of Sweden – Sverigebilden

• Will Sweden’s reputation survive its unique coronavirus response?
  
  
• Readers reveal: How do Sweden’s international residents feel about the coronavirus response?