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Defense in Lund

20 december 2024

On Friday 13 December, Petra Östergren successfully defended her thesis ‘Sweden's Ban on Sex-Purchase: Morality politics and the governance of prostitution’ and can now call herself a doctor in social anthropology.

The opponent, Professor Sara Johnsdotter, Malmö University, summed up the thesis by noting that the issue of prostitution is controversial.

- The issue arouses strong emotions and moral politics is about what kind of society we want to live in. 

Petra Östergren said that the topic had forced her to be very careful in her work in order to be able to face criticism.

Sara Johnsdotter concluded the discussion by saying that the thesis was an important contribution to the development of theory in social anthropology.

- It is a dense, well-written text with originality and academic integrity that requires concentrated reading. As a reader, I am convinced.

A unanimous examination board approved the thesis.