Law's reflection of, and effect on, social norms

The rape allegations brought in Sweden against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange raise another interesting perspective on Rick's and Rob's recent questions about the law's influence social norms, in this case involving sexual assault.  A NYT article on this topic reports:

The number of reported rapes in Sweden is by far the highest in the European Union, according to the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics, which cites 53 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. Britain has the next highest rate, at 24 per 100,000. . . .

This is most probably not a result of more sexual violence taking place in Sweden, legal experts said, but a result of more crimes being reported.

Some people say, in fact, that if female empowerment — economic, social, and also legal — has a different quality in Sweden than in other countries, it is because men are also at the heart of the gender-equality debate.

Eighty-five percent of Swedish men take parental leave and even conservative male politicians call themselves feminists. With men and women more equal at work and at home, and concerns about the state intruding actively into family and personal affairs long gone, some taboos that may have protected sexual offenders may also be disappearing.

(I also thought this quote from the lawyer representing the two women involved was funny:   “If he claims that truth and transparency is behind WikiLeaks, he needs to accept the same standards of transparency for himself and come testify.”)