Barnamordsplakatet (a Infanticide Proclamation) of 1778 was a circular allowing unmarried mothers to give birth at an undisclosed location without giving up the name of the father. The proclamation was supposed to ease the situation for the unwed mother in Sweden.The aim was to investigate whether women in Assembly of Hällefors, far from government and close to remote forest Finnskogen, was affected by the Infanticide Proclamation, between 1771 and 1830.Case studies has been done on people who had illegitimate children, if they were convicted, what the crime was and what the punishment was. The investigation is made at a local level and compared against national analyzes on the same theme.A lot of illegitimate children were born in Grythyttan nearby and slightly less in Hällefors, compared to other places of Sweden. Mothers and fathers were convicted in the district court for crimes, including, sexual intercourse between unmarried persons. More women than men were convicted.

The aim of this study was to investigate and analyze similarities and differences in trials and punishment from a gender perspective, during the inquisition in the episcopate of Linköping. A inquisition initiated by duke Karl but performed by archbishop Abraham Angermannus in the year 1596.During the working process a quantitive method was used in the purpose of getting statistic data considering number of men and women that were trialed and punished. A hermeneutic qualitive method was also used in the purpose of closer investigating certain cases that men and women were involved in. The theoretical concepts that have been of importance and used in this study are the individual and the female subject that is based on gender in judicial procedures.The results showed that 49 % of the men were trialed for quarrel. Not as many men were trialed for contempt towards the church and witchery.The most frequently used corporal punishment in this cases were flogging that were executed for totally 38 % of the men.The investigation also proved that men were punished with these forms of corporal punishments for showing their contempt towards the church.