Envisioning Other Ways of Doing Consequence: a Critical Investigation of Court Trials in Denmark

Abstract: Informed by anti-carceral feminism and theories as well as practices of transformative justice (TJ) and community accountability (CA), this thesis critically investigates court trials in Denmark and calls for further thinking and action in handling harm beyond carcerality. Through observing 11 rape trials, I outline the logics of processing conflicts within the court system, focusing on how they constrain possible ways of approaching the harm experienced and attend to the parties’ affective responses. I argue that in the current Danish court system, conflicts are not generative but assessed with the interest of ”evidence” to match the legal paragraphs. The societal context in where sexual violence plays out is decoupled and conflicts are individualized following a liberal paradigm. During trials, the parties’ affective responses often got ignored and dismissed by the courtroom professionals. They were not assisted in moving beyond the harm exercised and experienced within court. From the analysis, I suggest that working towards ending the harm of sexual violence entails attending to conditions for harm to be exercised, frameworks for recognizing harm, and envisioning other consequences than court trials and penalties. This entails letting go of the idea that a just ruling over the past is possible and desirable.