Social services' responsibility for victims of violence etc.

Christian Carlsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! In a family, the most important task is to support one another with love and responsible demands. In the functioning family, the security and values are established that make it possible for us to grow and develop our potential. There we learn what is right and wrong and to treat others with respect.

Unfortunately, it happens that the home, which is supposed to be a place of safety, is instead transformed into a crime scene. Far too many women are beaten by their husbands. Not infrequently, it happens in front of the eyes of small children. The violence, the threats, and the fear cause the self-esteem of those who are exposed to it to disappear and their insecurity and anxiety to increase.

When adults are no longer able to take responsibility and do not offer the security that the rest of the family needs, when threats and violence instead characterize everyday life, then it is the responsibility of the rest of society to intervene in defense of the vulnerable family members. There must be protected housing available across the entire country - secure housing where the vulnerable are certain that they can feel safe.

That is why the government is now preparing proposals aimed at strengthening the quality of our protected residences and improving the protection for persons with protected personal data. We also intend to strengthen individual rights and also the support for those children who are forced to be torn from their lives to accompany their mother to a protected residence.

Social services' responsibility for victims of violence, etc.

Mr. Speaker! The consequences of violence are particularly serious when it is not just one person but the entire family or clan that exerts the violence and oppression. Islamism and honor culture have spread in Sweden in recent years, and in some areas, women can no longer move freely. In Rinkeby, 20 minutes from here, it has been reported how the square has been emptied of women because it is not said to belong to the culture for women to have coffee on their own. Other girls testify about how they are spat upon out in town because they refuse to wear a veil.

Thousands of young girls are forced to live under the oppression of honor culture in our country. Girls are tricked abroad to be married off and never return to the school bench after the summer holidays. Others are abused or murdered in the name of honor.

Mr. Speaker! Values matter. The fight against honor culture and honor-related violence is about being clear about which values Sweden will continue to build upon. It is about standing up for Swedish values of freedom and equality. It is about standing up for Western culture. Above all, it is about defending the freedom of individuals and standing up for some of society's most vulnerable. Therefore, we need to do more to combat honor culture and honor violence.

A specific criminal classification for honor-based oppression was finally put in place last year, and the government has now announced that they will tighten the penalties further for this type of crime. I think it is very positive that the County Administrative Board in Östergötland has received a reinforced mandate to support the development of regional resource centers to combat honor-related violence and oppression. There are already successful examples, but it needs to spread to more parts of the country. I also mean that the social services need a clearer mandate and better conditions to counteract the type of radicalization and extremism that paves the way for Islamism and honor culture in Sweden.

I would also like to mention a few words about prostitution and human trafficking in Sweden. Some prostitute themselves because they do not know how else to provide for their children or finance drugs. Others may have been born into a family where they were sold by their parents as children. Someone else has been deceived here by a man who perhaps said he loved her, but now she is instead forced to sell her body here in Sweden.

Unfortunately, at the same time, there are far too many men in Sweden who are prepared to exploit other people's vulnerability by buying sex. It concerns everyone from young guys to parents of small children and the elderly. Sex buyers exist in all strata of society, and I believe we need to talk more about the values that make certain men prepared to take that right instead of treating others with respect.

It is the case that most who engage in prostitution do so out of coercion or because they find themselves in a very difficult and vulnerable situation. Many have previously been subjected to sexual abuse and rape. The vast majority state that they would leave prostitution if they could. In the worst cases, it concerns someone who has fallen victim to trafficking and human trafficking.

The decision to commit the crime of buying sex is wrong because one risks exploiting an extremely vulnerable person when what one should do instead is to help her or him away from the vulnerability. We need to offer better support to the prostitutes and punish those who buy sex and maintain human trafficking more severely.

Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight the government's ongoing work with the action plan against prostitution and human trafficking, which is part of the government's broader initiative to prevent and counter men's violence against women. I will also say that I look forward to the results of the investigation regarding the development of an exit program for persons who are exposed to prostitution.

For us Christian Democrats, combating prostitution and human trafficking is about taking social responsibility. It is about standing up for some of society's most vulnerable, and we are happy to contribute to strengthening that work.

In conclusion, I will vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report, but I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the Speaker, the chair, the committee secretariat, and my colleagues in the committee for the work during the parliamentary session.

I would first and foremost like to wish everyone a happy Midsummer and thereafter also a continued pleasant summer! I look forward to continued good cooperation this autumn.

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Gustaf Lantz (S)

Mr. Speaker! I have worked as a student assistant and in home care. I have worked at a court and within the correctional services. I have also been a legal representative. In different roles, I have met crime victims who have struggled with their lives. Sometimes I have sensed what they have been through. Sometimes I have known. Sometimes I have provided support to the one affected, and sometimes I have been involved in sentencing the perpetrator.

I have seen photographs of bruises, wounds, and torn hair. I have seen children wriggling through recorded interrogations, where they tell about abuse. I have seen how women have been broken down after years of terror.

I have many times seriously reflected on how brutal and unjust this world can be and how there is so much suffering even in a country with peace and prosperity. I believe that many of you have also done so.

But if there is any country that has the possibility to prevent crime and help crime victims, it is Sweden. Our society is strong. Our resources are great. We must believe in it, and we must invest in it. Politics is about will and about choice. In the end, it is not the politicians' knowledge and commitment that is decisive, but politics' ability to ensure that society takes advantage of the knowledge and commitment that exists in society.

Mr. Speaker! All the committed people who literally save lives at the country's women's shelters deserve the right conditions for their work. Above all, vulnerable women deserve long-term and stable solutions so that they can receive the help they need. The Government must therefore work to ensure that the women's shelters are financed long-term through state support.

Today, no permit is required to provide the protected housing measure. Requirements for order and tidiness should be a matter of course in such important activities. Proposals exist, but legislation is delayed. It is important, Mr. Speaker, that the investigated proposals on strengthened rights for children and adults in protected housing are implemented quickly. The protected housing measure shall, according to the proposal, be covered by both specific quality requirements and a permit requirement. This is important. This is urgent.

Mr. Speaker! Sometimes it is said that diamonds are a woman's best friend. What sexist nonsense! It is not diamond rings from courting men that have made it so that women have the right to vote, social security outside of marriage, or the opportunity to work and support themselves. Female liberation has occurred in conjunction with the emergence of healthcare, childcare, and other welfare. These are demands that have, among others, been made by a strong women's movement. If there is anything that is a woman's best friend, it is then the welfare state, which the women's movement has helped build up in this country.

But what happens when we enter an economic crisis and the government stands by and watches? What happens when jobs disappear from healthcare, when housing queues grow, and when social services lack resources? What happens when it becomes practically harder to leave a harmful relationship and when colleagues are suddenly not there?

We Social Democrats prioritize welfare in our budget. Billions in tax cuts could have been billions for welfare if we had been allowed to decide. We included 12 billion in general state grants to municipalities and regions in our budget. The government included 6 billion. We included half a billion for a special initiative for social services. The government included 10 million kronor. We allocated 50 times more. But it is the government that governs this country and to whom the tax money has been entrusted. It is their will and their choices that we all have to live with.

Mr. Speaker! The housing market creates great obstacles for women who are forced to live with protected personal data and women who must move to another location. We know too little about their situation. But we know that we must know more in order to be able to do more. The municipalities' efforts to help victims of violence to arrange stable housing after a stay in protected housing must be mapped out carefully.

Mr. Speaker! Fadime Sahindal has her own place in Uppsala - both in the consciousness of those of us who live there and physically on Bangårdsgatan, where Fadime's place is located. Thanks to her struggle and because of her death, we know so much more about honor-based violence in general in this country. This knowledge must constantly be transformed into better interventions from social services. The Government has a special responsibility to drive this work forward - for Fadime's sake and for every single person who, long after her death, is affected by the atrocities of honor-based violence.

Mr. Speaker! Sweden needs, for that reason, and for many others, a new Social Services Act – one that gives the social services better tools in our time. Social workers thrive best on their toes, but the law often forces them to stand on their heels. Unleash their power and let us have a social service that can listen and quickly prevent catastrophes instead of only being forced to clean up after them once they have occurred!

Proposals exist, but legislation is delayed. The government has postponed the new law. Time is ticking, and we in the opposition count every day that passes before we have a new Social Services Act in place. The plan was that we would decide on a new law this year, but the government has announced that it will not happen. I hope that next year we are given the opportunity to decide on a new Social Services Act here in the Riksdag. No more lost years!

Mr. Speaker! Since this is my last entry for this year, I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy summer. For my part, hard unexpected blocks under the feet, rocks on the shoulders, and a harsh awakening of a foot in the face in the middle of the night await, but also infinite love. Soon I will be on parental leave.

With that, I move for approval of reservation 27.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Malin Höglund (M)

Mr. Speaker! Today we are debating the Social Affairs Committee's report 18 regarding the social services' responsibility for those subjected to violence. I begin by moving to approve the committee's proposal.

Mr. Speaker! The social services have an important role when it comes to helping and protecting victims of violence. It is important that the social services are accessible and responsive in order to be able to provide support and protection to those who need it.

In our Sweden, no girl or boy should feel afraid of their parents, afraid to go home in the evening when they have been at practice or at a friend's house, or afraid to go on summer vacation. In our Sweden, no parents should feel insecure in their parenthood.

Mr. Speaker! In the budget bill for 2023, the government states that parents or, where applicable, other guardians have the primary responsibility for children's upbringing conditions. It also states that it is important that parents gain knowledge about the child's rights and support in parenting. Furthermore, it is written: The government intends to strengthen parenting support and to increase the number of parenting support programs. The government proposes an investment in reinforced parenting support. The appropriation is proposed to increase by a total of 400 million kronor from 2023.

Support for parents is one of the best measures a municipality can make for its residents. Through secure parents, we also get secure children.

Mr. Speaker! One of the social services' main tasks is to protect and support vulnerable people, including those subject to violence. Early interventions are some of the absolutely most important actions we can take for children and young people.

There has been criticism of the social services for not doing enough to help victims of violence. It is important to take this criticism seriously and review how the social services can become better at helping those who need it. It is not just about providing acute help but also about providing support and protection in the long term. It is important that the social services have sufficient knowledge about different forms of violence and how to help those who are subjected to it.

Mr. Speaker! It is also important that the social services cooperate with other authorities and organizations in order to be able to provide the help that is needed. It is about cooperating with the police, healthcare, and various non-profit organizations in order to be able to provide the best possible support to persons exposed to violence.

There are several investigations underway that we have received. For example, a new Social Services Act is coming, which several of you have touched upon. The investigation will be completed next year and will then be sent out for consultation. A national strategy will be established to prevent and combat violence against children. There is also an investigation regarding exit programs for persons who are subjected to prostitution.

Mr. Speaker! Almost every day we hear on the radio and TV or read in various media about new shootings. Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer said in an interview that "it will get worse before it gets better."

The government shall review the sentencing scales, the penalties, and the system for sentencing. The penalties for violent crimes and sexual crimes - where life imprisonment shall be considered for the most serious crimes - and the penalties for attacks against the police and other crimes that threaten the foundations of the rule of law and society shall be further tightened in relation to other types of crimes.

Mr. Speaker! There is a considerable amount of ongoing work in the area, which we have taken note of.

In the Tidö Agreement, it states that the investigation shall review different possibilities to strengthen parental responsibility and enable early interventions for children who commit crimes or are in a risk zone. This includes, among other things, looking at the possibilities for additional support for children.

The initiative on parental support programs is being expanded, and the goal is for it to be available in all municipalities in the country. The Social Services Act is being amended for the purpose of giving the social services extended powers to decide on early and mandatory interventions for the children or their guardians.

Finally: When a child is placed, we must ensure a functioning schooling. We could all witness this when we visited Sis-hemmet Rebecka last week. Schooling is so incredibly important if life as a young adult is to function. We also learned that two girls had graduated from high school, which was pleasing to hear.

Before I conclude, I would like to take the opportunity to wish the presidium and Mr. Speaker a happy Midsummer and thank the Chancellery and the Social Affairs Committee for the two terms we have had together.

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Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member, for an initiated speech! I agree with very much of what the Member highlights regarding the social services' responsibility and that one must support the social services and give it the tools to develop in order to be able to embrace its entire mandate, which is enormously large. I am very distressed by the campaign being waged against the social services.

The chairman mentioned many things: work methods, cooperation, new exit programs, and sentencing scales. I have certain opinions about the content of some of the positions, but what we can state – especially this year – is that we have failed. Social services have failed, the police have failed, and all of us have failed because the number of murders of women is so extremely high this year.

That is why the Centre Party has proposed a national exit program. It says "release support" in the report, but we have continued to work on a national exit program. It is actually the only thing we know saves lives, or prevents more murders, namely that women can get away from a violent relationship with all the support that is actually needed.

We know that several different activities must be involved and that several different authorities must cooperate. There are different activities working with this all over the country. The municipalities are involved in the vast majority. The police are involved in many but not all. The important thing, however, is that key actors are involved.

This is not something that happens by itself. We must create a program and a structure that is similar across the country and that supports women, regardless of where they live, and gives them the protection and support they need, both before they break up and after they have broken up, as well as long-term financial support.

I do not think the committee's text addresses this. It is a bit too fluffy. How does the member view this?

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Malin Höglund (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member Helena Vilhelmsson, for important questions!

It should not be a postcode lottery, as we said when we talked about assistive technology issues, which municipality one lives in when one is to receive help. It should be equal across the country. However, that is not how it looks. We have 290 different municipalities in the country. Some are very small, some are larger and some are at the median. It is perhaps these that are more functional, when one has approximately 20,000 inhabitants and it is easy to see each other.

The social services have a great responsibility in this by being available, perhaps not just during office hours but also at other times. But it must also be evidence-based when one actually takes care of the women so that we do not do things in different ways. It should be equal in our municipalities, at least I think so.

We have quite a bit to do here. We also have a new Social Services Act coming next year and before that it is to be sent out for consultation. We will have to see what comes with it.

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Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! Once again, I agree with the points being put forward. But, also once again, this is nothing that in the short term will cause the murders of women to cease. The only way to achieve that is to simultaneously create a shelter program, similar across the country, with the protection and support that is needed.

It is a bit strange. There are exit programs for men who want to leave criminal environments with three and a half years of structured support in the form of therapy, employment, leisure activities, care, treatment, and financial support. Women who leave violent relationships get virtually none of this. At best, they get a protected residence. In the worst case, they get a protected identity that they have to live with for a long time of their lives. It is completely horrific how differently we view men and women and how differently we take for granted who should receive what kind of support.

I have raised this issue with the Minister for Equality. I have raised it with the Minister for Justice. That is somewhat why I am directing the question to the member from the Moderaterna. Now, it is not about the social services, but the Moderaterna do hold the Ministry of Justice.

My questions are, therefore, again: Does the member not think this is remarkable? What proposals can the member imagine proposing to the government to achieve a national removal program, similar in the whole country, to save women's lives and so that no more women are murdered?

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Malin Höglund (M)

Mr. Speaker! I have been the chairman of the social welfare committee in Mora in Dalarna for eight years. I have met several of these women. The social welfare committee was responsible for social services and for elderly care. I have met several women at different residential facilities. Several women wanted to have a secret identity, only to reveal it a few weeks or months later.

I agree that this is problematic. We now have many different investigations underway, and we have to see what they lead to. But I still feel great hope with this government and the Tidö Agreement we now have. I have not given up hope.

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Carita Boulwén (SD)

Mr. Speaker! This evening we are debating the Social Committee's report number 18 Social Services' responsibility for victims of violence. I want to begin by stating that we in the Sweden Democrats stand behind all our reservations, but for the sake of time, I only move for approval of reservation number 13.

Mr. Speaker! No one should have to be subjected to violence, in any form. But violence affects women, men, children, young people and the elderly. Violence does not only occur out on the streets and squares, in public places, but also in private homes and relationships. Violence in the home and violence in close relationships is a serious problem that affects people in their own safe environments, in their homes, where one should both feel and actually also be safe and secure. Both physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence occur.

But there is also another type of violence in close relationships that previously was not a part of Sweden but which has emerged in recent years due to governments' demand-free policies. Honor-related violence and oppression, due to large immigration from culturally distant countries, has gained an ever stronger foothold in our country and is a large and growing societal problem. Often there are also several perpetrators, from both family and relatives.

Violence and control are used to uphold the family's or the kin's honor. It is primarily girls and women who are controlled and subjected to it. In addition to physical and mental abuse and threats, it can also include child marriage, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation of girls and women. Girls or women have "fallen" from balconies or in other horrific and tragic ways been killed in the name of so-called honor. Socialstyrelsen estimates that 68,000 women and girls in our country may have been subjected to female genital mutilation and that 13,000-23,000 girls are at risk of being subjected to it.

Mr. Speaker! The Sweden Democrats are clear: All forms of violence and oppression must be forcefully countered and combated! We must have a zero tolerance for violence and work to ensure that the justice system functions both effectively and fairly in order to protect the victims and prevent further abuses.

I am therefore pleased that the Sweden Democrats, together with the government parties in the Tidö Agreement, have agreed on a number of important measures, reforms, and initiatives to address the major problems that are part of many women's and men's everyday lives. This includes a new Social Services Act where crime prevention work is particularly prioritized, where crime victims and potential crime victims shall be made aware of their rights, and where their opportunities for help and support shall increase.

Targeted measures shall be provided to persons in particularly vulnerable situations, such as children, young people, the elderly, as well as persons who are subject to honor-related oppression.

Parental responsibility is strengthened, and legislation against honor-related oppression is tightened. It will be possible to introduce stay bans. A broad reform shall strengthen student health, and there shall be an opportunity to protect vulnerable children to a greater extent.

It is primarily parents or guardians who are responsible for the children's upbringing conditions. I have repeatedly pointed out here in the rostrum the importance of early and preventive measures and the importance of safe families. This cannot be overemphasized. Society must therefore offer support and resources for parenthood and family life.

There must be an action plan or measures plan in every municipality to identify and stop honor-related oppression. There shall be annual national statistics on the number of children living under honor-related conditions, expanded mapping, and more investigations to counter child marriages.

The consequences of violence in close relationships are extensive and long-lasting. Sometimes it tragically even ends in death. It affects not only those who are directly affected but also their families and friends, not least children who grow up in a violent environment and who witness or are themselves directly subjected to violence.

Mr. Speaker! We in the Sweden Democrats consider it extremely important that the work to prevent violence in close relationships is strengthened. There are major deficiencies today, and society at large needs to receive increased understanding and knowledge about violence in close relationships in all forms and about honor-related violence and oppression. This needs to be ensured within more professional groups.

The social services have, among other things, an important role to play when it comes to managing and supporting those who are subjected to violence in close relationships and for honor-related violence and oppression. It also concerns identifying those who are in sexual vulnerability and prostitution. It involves, among other things, offering protection, support, housing options, counseling, therapy, and legal support.

To combat violence in close relationships, we also need to cooperate across different sectors, including the justice system, healthcare, schools, and voluntary organizations. Society needs to offer support and ensure that victims receive the help they need to leave a violent situation and rebuild their lives.

The country's women's shelters are an important resource and an important part of the support provided to those exposed to violence. In their work, they receive some of society's most vulnerable who need protection. Therefore, we in the Sverigedemokraterna, among other things in this report, point out that a review of society's support for women's shelters and support housing should be carried out and that they should be certified, to ensure that the operations maintain good quality and that there is competence. Furthermore, the children's perspective should be strengthened, and children who are placed should be covered by their own decision.

The conditions are also now improving for women's organizations to conduct more long-term activities by a part of the grant being distributed as organizational grants and being allowed to cover a period of two grant years.

Furthermore, we have proposed that municipalities' studies and evaluations of violence in close relationships should also include elderly care. Tragically, the elderly are also subjected to violence in close relationships, both by relatives and by others in their surroundings. The Gender Equality Authority has now also been tasked to map the knowledge and identify knowledge gaps among, among others, municipalities regarding elderly people who have turned 65 who are victims of violence.

Mr. Speaker! Finally, I want to point out emphatically that we must put a stop to violence in close relationships. I am pleased that we in this chamber and in this committee are in agreement, perhaps not always on the approach, but on the common goals of a zero vision when it comes to violence in close relationships.

Mr. Speaker! There is much more to add, but I will stop here.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Speaker, the Presidium, and the committee members for this past year. I wish you a pleasant Midsummer and a very pleasant summer.

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Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Carita Boulwén, for a committed speech!

Not least that which the member raised at the end, that there must be a stop to violence in close relationships, I believe everyone in this assembly can sign off on. It is extremely important, Mr. Speaker.

Men's violence against women knows no borders. It occurs everywhere in the world, in all countries and in all parts of Sweden. It occurs among both young people and among older people, which was also stated in the speech. It occurs in all social groups and among all different backgrounds. It is not a problem linked to a certain group, a certain place or a certain economy. It is a problem linked to men who cannot control their behavior but who have a strong need to control others' behavior and to suppress other people. It must, just as the member says, be stopped.

This is not a debate about harsher punishments. But it is something we agree on – harsher punishments, increased police interventions, and restrictions for the perpetrators. What we are debating here is primarily the social interventions.

When one looks at the Tidö Agreement and its content, one sees precisely that there is not particularly much attention paid to social interventions. There is talk of harsher punishments, not linked specifically to men's violence against women but in general. There is talk of camera surveillance and various repressive measures.

Mr. Speaker! My question to the Member is what the situation is with the Sweden Democrats and the Tidö parties when it comes to the preventive work. We have not received any real answers there.

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Carita Boulwén (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for your question, Christofer Bergenblock!

The preventive work, which I raised in my speech and raise constantly, is extremely important. I also raise the need to ensure that the family is doing well. It is about offering parental support, having functioning schools, and ensuring that there are present adults around the child and the young person. It is important.

Regarding the social services, we have a number of proposals. To begin with, we look forward to a new Social Services Act. Measures to reduce children's vulnerability shall also be developed. We also have the leisure card, which is intended to make it possible for more people to participate in activities.

The Act on Care of Young People should be used more often, in order to, among other things, protect vulnerable children and young people. And a national social intervention force shall be established. It shall conduct situational analyses and convey proven methods for preventing crime.

We also have the 24-hour rule. Parents must be reported to the social services within 24 hours from when their child has committed a crime or when it is considered that there is a risk that the child is being subjected to something.

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Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Mr. Speaker! It is good that a number of proposals are being presented regarding the preventive work. What is particularly important in preventive work is precisely to target boys and men who need to learn at an early age and understand how to behave towards other people.

We know that violence by men against women is one of our greatest societal problems today. When we look at lethal violence in society today, we can state that gang shootings up to June 15 this year have caused 20 deaths in Sweden. Murder in close relationships has caused 22 deaths in Sweden. Still, the great debate is held about gang crime and gang violence.

One has seen the Sweden Democrats flank the government parties at press conferences about gang violence, but not at press conferences about men's violence against women. It can make one wonder what the prioritization looks like. It is not in such a way that the work against the gangs should be deprioritized. It is a very important work. But the work against men's violence against women and countering that violence is equally important. But it has not been seen and heard as much regarding those issues.

In order for a woman to be able to leave a destructive relationship where she is subjected to violence, interventions are required. My colleague Helena Vilhelmsson has just presented the proposal for a departure program from us in Centerpartiet. What is the position of the Sverigedemokraterna on that proposal, on building up a concrete exit program also for women who need to leave a destructive relationship behind?

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Carita Boulwén (SD)

Mr. Speaker! What the member highlights is extremely important, and I agree that one does not exclude the other. We must be able to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time.

All violence must absolutely be countered with full force, regardless of who is the perpetrator and regardless of who it is against. I agree with the member that we must find ways for those women - and also men, even if they are not as many - who are subjected to violence in a close relationship to have somewhere to go. It is completely reasonable and something that we naturally must work for.

We must strengthen the family. It is about preventive work to ensure safe families. In that regard, we have, among other things, proposals for for example parenting support programs. These can be digital tools to use in, for example, cases of separation, precisely so that parents can have somewhere to turn for advice, tips, and support on how they should act and work to make things as good as possible and to counteract split families. That is where the greatest work lies. It is usually in broken families that violence is born.

Very often we see boys and men who, in the absence of a father figure, commit a great deal of violence and end up on the wrong track in life. There we must work significantly more.

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Juno Blom (L)

Mr. Speaker! Today's debate is about people subjected to violence and the social services' responsibility. The current development of violence in Sweden has escaped no one. News reporting is characterized by crime victims who are subjected to violence, shootings, and explosions. But the violence we are talking about today is that which men perpetrate and which most often occurs within the four walls of the home. It is violence without outside witnesses. Women and children are threatened and abused by partners and fathers who should offer love and security.

We are discussing honor-related violence and oppression and sexual abuse of children. There is no reason to set different types of vulnerability against each other, but it is easy to state that this violence is at least equally serious, equally alarming, and constantly present, yet never receives as much attention. It concerns crime victims who many times do not dare to tell about their vulnerability and who lack support. They are crime victims who suffer in their loneliness and vulnerability. The number of unreported cases is enormous.

One in ten children in Sweden has experienced violence in the home. The proportion of children being taken out of the country to be married off or subjected to female genital mutilation is increasing. Aftonbladet's investigation shows that between 2000 and 2020, 325 women were killed by a man they had or had had a relationship with. 596 children lost their mother.

The violence continues. The suffering of girls and women subjected to violence continues. The children's vulnerability continues. Children are forced into contact with a violent father. Already vulnerable girls are placed in state-run locked facilities and risk being subjected to violence and sexual abuse by staff.

A shift in perspective is required so that the crime victims' and the child's best interests are always put first. Today, such a shift in perspective is underway. Recently, the government decided that the violence prevention work shall be written into law. It is an important political decision. The natural question then becomes to find out what the preventive work shall contain by identifying risk factors. Early and clear interventions are crucial.

In order for the violence prevention work to have an effect, we must increase knowledge about what the risk factors are in order to be able to implement effective measures to counteract young boys and men resorting to violence as a means of power. Despite the fact that we see a massive development in violence today, it is important to remember that the vast majority of boys and young men do not subject their partners or their children to violence. Most young boys do not resort to firearms and cross all boundaries, regardless of which area they live in.

The debate concerning young criminals has been characterized by a singular focus on socioeconomic factors. The fear of talking about norms and values has led us to choose to label all families in certain residential areas, which has devastating consequences. We must see and take in more perspectives. One of these is to see and understand what exposure to violence during childhood risks leading to. Violence creates violence, and violence leaves deep wounds. Norms and values affect the child from birth. The betrayal when no one sees, understands, or takes action affects children exposed to violence.

Mothers subjected to violence are forced into difficult custody conflicts when they are subjected to violence. Should I leave a violent man to escape the violence myself, but with the risk that the violent man continues to have custody of the child?

When it comes to the norms and values of the culture of honor, sons are raised early to take responsibility for the behavior of their sisters and close relatives. There, the right to use threats and violence is sanctioned by the family and the clan so that someone can exercise control over the behavior of sisters and other close female relatives.

What does a childhood marked by violence lead to? Violence becomes the strongest's right and means. The norms and values children are surrounded by from birth take on significance. The betrayal that those who saw chose to turn away and chose not to act affects the child. I am sometimes amazed that there are so many children who manage well despite a childhood marked by violence.

"I have so much repressed anger and helplessness in my body that it feels like I could explode at any moment," explained a young guy whose upbringing was characterized by a father who subjected the entire family to violence. We must see the connections between being subjected to violence oneself and the increased risk that it leads to one subjecting others to violence.

To change, we must understand. To be able to understand, we must see reality. We must be able to have multiple perspectives on the table at the same time. The one who commits violence has their own responsibility and must be met with powerful consequences, but we as politicians have a responsibility to see and protect the children who are exposed to violence, to prevent children exposed to violence from growing up and choosing to exercise violence as a means to gain power, and so that children exposed to violence are given the right to process the consequences of the violence.

The Liberals welcome that the Social Services Act is now to be reformed. Today's Social Services Act was written in a different time when the challenges were completely different. We must provide social workers with the right conditions to perform interventions that are effective and make a difference.

Reports to the social services shall also become searchable. There shall be a social services data register so that it can be known where children are placed and what interventions have been made, in order to become better at seeing what works and which measures do not achieve the desired effect.

The Liberals are proud to have finally had the previous government produce a basis for a national strategy against violence against children. It is now out for consultation.

Children's lives cannot be repeated. We Liberals will continue to fight for all children's right to a safe and good upbringing and for all women exposed to violence to know that there is support and protection. A life free from all forms of violence and oppression is a matter of rights.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Juno Blom, for the speech! It is always inspiring to listen.

I would like to highlight the same question as in a previous reply: The problem we face with the fact that society has failed so capitally in protecting women. The number of murders is extremely large.

I had an interpellation debate with the Minister for Equality last week regarding just the "lämnaprogram" to hear how the Minister and the government view that issue. I do not know if you listened to or took part in the answer, but much of what Juno Blom brings up was mentioned there, for example a ten-year national strategy, action programs up to 2023 and thereafter a new action program that is to be established. The social services were described and the importance of authorities cooperating and that no one should fall between the cracks. It reinforces the Socialstyrelsen's mandate and the municipalities' work with permanent housing, which is very good. It is also about the county administrative boards' coordination function and so on.

However, there are few operational measures, efforts, or activities mentioned. The question was about how we are to prevent more women from being murdered, and I believe we must be more hands-on to succeed.

The social services have a responsibility for, and we have a responsibility to create the conditions for, both preventive work, operational work, and financial support when the woman finally manages to get away from there. Parts of the shelter programs, which occur in some parts of the country, can be implemented quickly in the form of financial support, "fuck off" capital, support for housing, and so on.

I would like to know how the member reasons. Do the Liberals think the work is sufficient to prevent more women from being murdered in the short term?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Juno Blom (L)

Mr. Speaker! There is surely no one who can think that the order we have in our society today is sufficient.

Then comes the question of what should be done. I have pondered this much for many years. When I worked more concretely with these issues, I was very much in Norway and looked at their work. It would be very interesting - something I also drive - to look at their crisis centers. Many years ago, one entered with a state funding initially. Then the municipalities were connected. This has led to that women in Norway do not need a decision to get access to a protected housing.

If we really want women and their children who are victims of violence to receive quick and secure protection, I personally think that would be the most effective model. Then, of course, the women and children must be able to process the experience of the violence. The housing model is constructed in a fantastic way.

There are women's shelters here that have worked with these issues for a long time. There is therefore something to build on, which is important and good.

During the time I investigated the national strategy, there were proposals. In the same period, the previous government submitted its support during its first term. I believe that much clearer state funding is needed to achieve long-term sustainability. At the County Administrative Board of Östergötland, we built up Kompotten. When I left there, 67 municipalities were part of Kompotten. They could exchange women and children affected by violence between the municipalities. But there was no interest from the government's side to follow up on this. It was something we did on the side.

I share Vilhelmsson's view that more must be done. Good things are being done, but one must reach the foundation in a better way than today.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! I remember the discussion about Kompotten. I recall that we were involved, and both the Liberals and the Centre Party pushed the government. It was a catastrophe that it was not formalized.

Time and again, I raise the issue of the handover program. There are functioning operations in the form of cooperation between the police, municipal authorities, and all the actors needed in the country. But they are project activities - not ordinary operations. Parts of them can be carried out quickly, while other forms of cooperation take a long time to establish. It is not something where you press a button to roll out on the line in different operations. It is so incredibly important not to lose any experience.

It is once again strange that there are leave programs with everything that it entails for men but not for women. I shall recount a bit from the Gender Equality Authority's report.

A person who wants to leave a criminal life is offered an 18-month long treatment program on assignment and funded by the social services. This is followed by two years of aftercare and follow-up which is free of charge for the municipality. During the first year, there is support around the clock and it includes interventions regarding housing, therapy, drug addiction, employment, debt restructuring, and leisure activities. This is followed by a six-month long discharge program so that the client can become more self-reliant.

The Gender Equality Authority can state that the difference in interventions and resources compared to women and children exposed to violence who live with protected personal data is palpable. Not least, the importance of a coordinated actor becomes clear so that persons living with protected personal data shall receive the best possible support and protection.

I think it is completely horrible to see the structured and serious efforts that occur towards men who want to leave criminal environments compared to women who want to leave violent environments that they themselves have not chosen. I really hope that the Liberals and the member can push the government so that it is possible to achieve a coordinated operation throughout the country.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Juno Blom (L)

Mr. Speaker! Member Vilhelmsson absolutely does not need to convince me that it is completely horrible. There has been an incredibly strong perpetrator perspective, in contrast to all the women who have to flee from their homes. The man gets to stay, and it is difficult to arrange restraining orders. The violent man can, for the most part, move freely across the entire country. I have had cases where one could stay in parts of Gothenburg. I am completely on the same page.

Then the question is what exactly is to be done and how housing is to be arranged. Vulnerable women contact me even now while I sit in the Riksdag. They have exactly this type of problem. They turn to the municipality and have to plead for the right to an intervention, even though there is sufficiently clear legislation so that it should be a matter of course. Just as the member says, the differences are enormous. An important issue to address is victims of violence's right to turn to a protected residence based on their own assessment of their vulnerability. It should not be about economic financing. It is precisely in connection with breakups that the risk of deadly violence increases significantly. If a woman facing violence has made the decision, the risk increases.

I devote my time to doing what I can to make an impact. I also know that the interest and the will exist to specifically find the forms so that women subjected to violence do not have to stand with their hats in hand while men committing violence are granted access to defector activities. That order can be accepted by no one in this country.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Maj Karlsson (V)

Mr. Speaker! No one listens to a whore. That is what a sentence reads on the Instagram account Inte Din Hora.

The text begins by stating that sex purchases have been ongoing for an extremely long time and have been carried out by men from all social classes - yes, even among members of parliament. Throughout all these years, men have exploited both children and adults and assumed that no one would know, as no one would listen to a prostitute anyway.

The text continues, however, by declaring that nothing lasts forever; the trend is about to turn. Today, the six-buying men do not meet a person no one sees, but today they meet the opinion makers, authors, and leaders of the future. They are people who now refuse to be silent.

This is a fantastic revolution that I do not hesitate for a second to embrace. Today, you in the chamber will also get to listen to those who are subjected to sexual exploitation. And I can already say now that I will exceed my allotted speaking time.

In 1999, Sweden became the first country in the world to ban the purchase of sexual services without criminalizing the person who sells sex. It is a strong stance from Sweden's side. We know that being subjected to commercial sexual exploitation is one of the ultimate forms of violence against women. With our legislation, we are not only obligated to prevent the violence and convict the perpetrators, but we also have an obligation to offer care and support to the person who is a crime victim. A person who has been subjected to sexual violence because society has not done its part should never be left alone, should never have to bear either responsibility or guilt alone.

But unfortunately, help is very difficult to obtain, and debt is precisely what the one who sells sex often has to bear, Mr. Speaker.

In 2021, zero persons were sentenced to imprisonment for the exploitation of children, but at least 17 girls were sentenced to confinement at Sis after having been subjected to exactly that crime. In March this year, Sveriges Radio released an investigation showing that sexual abuse is raised in judgments regarding compulsory care of girls significantly more often than for boys. For every third girl, but only for every sixteenth boy, sexual behavior, relationships, or abuse is cited as a reason for LVU.

In the judgments, we can also clearly see that the girls are not only judged based on the abuses they were subjected to but are also made to bear the blame for them. No one can have forgotten the macabre meaning that can be read in one of the judgments regarding a girl who was taken into custody: "Through her behavior, she allowed herself to be subjected to sexual abuse." A crime victim of only 14 years old was made to bear the blame for the crime she was subjected to.

Perhaps no words can more clearly describe the challenges we face before we can claim that society regards the person who has been victimized as a crime victim and that we thereby provide the support that the person who is victimized is entitled to. There is no question that society and politics need to step up so that we can live up to what is actually our duty.

Mr. Speaker! The testimonies from those who have survived the hard struggle of leaving the lives where they sell sex, those who are survivors, are a hard blow to society and a brutal failing grade for politics. Often it is young girls who tell about the horrific abuses they have been subjected to, what traumas it has created, and what ruthless perpetrators have inflicted these upon them. As if that were not enough, it is more the rule than the exception that society has failed them significantly when they needed it most.

For me, it is completely inexcusable that these people have not been listened to, not seen, and definitely not helped, not even when they have asked for it. Instead, they have often been distrusted. Sometimes they, as we know, are even judged.

Therefore, it is high time that we listen now and that we act. Sex for compensation is not a free choice, as many seem to want to believe, but it is a loathsome result of society not acting sufficiently to put a stop to it or providing any alternatives and rightful support measures that provide a way out for the one who is being subjected to it.

We in Vänsterpartiet have therefore submitted a comprehensive motion to both prevent and provide the right help in time. In this report, we have eight reservations, all of which are based on the knowledge that those who sell sex have been forced to experience. Here are some of them.

Firstly, it is highlighted in the report *Ingen hörde ropen om hjälp* (No one heard the cries for help) that more than half of those who suffered report that they have not received professional help to process their experiences. Instead, they have been passed around in the system, where the different problems the person has are treated individually without regard for the whole. The situation is so bad that the Istanbul Convention's expert group has directed harsh criticism at Sweden's lack of care adapted to the needs of those who have been subjected to sexual crimes. Therefore, we want the range of treatments to be developed and for specialized trauma treatment to be offered.

Secondly, the support and protection for these persons need to be improved, especially since the needs can generally be difficult to detect. There is a particular need for support adapted to complex issues because it is a risk factor for vulnerability to sexual violence and exploitation. Social services have a great responsibility regarding identifying sexual vulnerability and prostitution and offering support. To ensure that the social interventions to help and support persons who have sex for compensation exist and are equivalent across the country, the municipalities' responsibilities should be clarified. The supply of support interventions needs to be evaluated and developed. The municipalities' responsibility to work proactively must also be clarified.

Thirdly, it is important for the Left Party that people who want to leave prostitution are given the opportunity to do so and that they receive an equal reception and the best possible treatment throughout the country. The Government should take the initiative to develop a national exit program for people who want to leave prostitution.

For the fourth, Vänsterpartiet has for a long time argued that collective enforcement measures are needed to reduce prostitution and human trafficking. In the evaluation of the sex purchase law, it is noted that there are several good examples of cooperation between authorities, but that structures for cooperation and knowledge transfer are lacking. According to the investigation's proposals, a national center with the task of leading the work against prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes should therefore be established.

For the fifth, we want the government to take the initiative for a national action plan against sexualized violence where a holistic approach to sexual violence in all stages is taken. It is not possible to stop the violence solely through legislation, but the problem needs to be tackled on a broad front across the entire society. One in ten men has at some point been guilty of the crime of purchasing sexual services. In that case, obviously significantly more is required than what we do today to stop the violence.

For the sixth, it is the only concrete measure specified from the social services' side so that a young person who is vulnerable shall receive care according to LVU. This is based on the definition that sexual exploitation is a "socially degrading behavior." For Vänsterpartiet, it is completely unreasonable that the only measure recommended for the target group aims at compulsory care for the youths when they have in fact been subjected to violence and abuse. Therefore, we want Socialstyrelsen to be tasked with establishing national guidelines for children and adults who are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. All children and young people who have been subjected to it shall receive dignified care and treatment, not be placed in an institution.

Mr. Speaker! Some of the Instagram accounts I follow quote what sex buyers have said to those they subject to the crime itself. Many of these statements are so crude that I cannot read them out here without the Speaker having to give me reprimands for my vile language. The violence that the victims testify to being subjected to is so brutal and ruthless that I sometimes almost lose hope in humanity.

I was particularly affected by a post that police officer Simon Häggström wrote some months ago. It concerned a horrific case that, unusually, had led to an indictment. The 37 indictment points concerned 16 men who had exploited a 16-year-old girl, that is, 16 men on one child.

That we have not been able to stop these perpetrators is a massive betrayal, which is hardly mitigated by the fact that we cannot even guarantee that this girl will receive the best possible help and support. That violence should be able to continue without us acting, without society being there when it is needed, must be completely unthinkable.

The legislation we have is very good. It clearly shows our position. But as we see, it alone is not sufficient to stop the violence. It is therefore, at the very least, high time that we take the next step regarding the preventive work but also the support measures.

We naturally stand behind all our reservations but today move for approval only of reservation 1.

I also would like to take the opportunity to wish the Speaker, the chair and the committee a nice summer.

(FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER: We thank you for the summer greeting.)

Then I must, for the sake of form, point out that the speaking time was exceeded by more than 50 percent, but that was not entirely unexpected.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Mr. Speaker! First, I would like to move for approval of the Center Party's reservation 14 under point 7 on violence in close relationships.

Until June 15 this year, the Police Authority states that 20 people have been killed in shootings in Sweden. The violence from the criminal networks is also expressed in explosions and other acts of violence, but what sticks most on the retina is, of course, the indiscriminate shootings where innocent people are affected. All boundaries have been crossed.

But society is pooling its resources to meet the violence. The politics takes it seriously. The police authority takes it seriously. The media takes it seriously. Everyone agrees that gang violence must be stopped with all available means at hand.

Until June 15 this year, 22 women have been murdered by a close relative. The violence from the men manifests as psychological and physical abuse, sexual violence, and honor-related violence. But that it happens in the own home and often with children present is perhaps what sticks most in the retina. These men have crossed all boundaries.

Still, society is not mobilizing to meet the violence. Politics does not take it seriously enough. The police authority does not take it seriously enough. The media does not take it seriously enough. If everyone actually agreed on how bad this is, society would mobilize against violence against women in the same way as against gang violence and conclude that it must be stopped by all available means.

Mr. Speaker! The Centre Party calls for a societal debate on men's violence against women, with the same dignity, agitation, and frenzy as the debate on violence from criminal gangs. The similarities are, in fact, many. In both cases, it is almost exclusively men who perpetrate the violence. In both cases, it is about spreading terror and fear to one's surroundings. In both cases, it is almost always about perpetrators whom the police are well acquainted with before they murder.

The escalating gang violence must in no way be downplayed, but we must also not downplay the violence against women in close relationships. The biggest difference between gang violence and violence against women is that while the former is a relatively new problem in Swedish society, violence against women has existed at all times and, unfortunately, has never been taken seriously enough. It is high time to reverse that trend now and seriously pool our efforts to stop men's violence against women and protect the children, who are also affected by this violence.

Centerpartiet has a number of proposals regarding police interventions, intervention measures against the perpetrators and harsher punishments, but in this report from the Social Affairs Committee, it is the proposals within the social area that we highlight. I intend to point out four of them.

Firstly, Mr. Speaker, society must become significantly better at detecting violence in close relationships and following up on suspicions of violence. Centerpartiet believes that competence development is needed within healthcare, police, school, and social services, partly to become better at detecting ongoing violence, and partly to become better at following up when it is known that violence is occurring. We also want to see proactive activities to support the vulnerable in leaving a destructive and violent relationship in time.

Secondly, women who are subjected to violence must be given significantly better opportunities to leave their relationship. Centerpartiet therefore wants to introduce a national exit program. Well-organized exit programs are a given for those who want to leave the gang criminal world but have not existed for women who want to leave a destructive and dangerous relationship behind – this despite the knowledge that the absolutely most dangerous time in a woman's life is when she has decided to leave a relationship.

Our proposal is about giving women the right to a coordinator who coordinates the contacts with authorities, the right to a relocation grant that makes it financially possible to leave, and access to a national housing queue for those affected by violence.

Thirdly, Mr. Speaker, the public sector must take responsibility for ensuring that there are safe shelters available for those fleeing a violent relationship, whether alone or together with children. The Centre Party wants to see that sheltered housing becomes a measure regulated by law, exactly as proposed in the investigation *Ett fönster av möjligheter* from 2018. By legislating the measure, an individual assessment of the accompanying child and its protection needs will also need to be made, which strengthens the child's rights in the situation that has arisen. It will also provide the opportunity to set requirements for quality and a licensing obligation for the sheltered accommodations. It is now high time that the investigation results in a government bill.

Fourthly, children must also receive stronger protection than today when it comes to vulnerability to violence. It is estimated that around 200,000 children every year are forced to witness violence in the home and that many of them are also subjected to violence themselves. This must have a major impact in a later assessment regarding custody and visitation. The Center Party argues that the person who has assaulted their partner, not infrequently in front of a child's eyes, has clearly shown themselves to be unsuitable as a parent and guardian. The Center Party argues that the person who has murdered their partner, not infrequently in front of a child's eyes, has forfeited their right to ever again be considered as a guardian.

Mr. Speaker! In an ordinary year, around 75,000 women are assaulted by a man they have or have had a close relationship with. Of these women, about twenty are murdered - every year, year after year. During 2023, 22 women have already been murdered despite half the year remaining.

This should be a main news story in radio, TV, and newspapers. It should be a given topic in a party leadership debate. It should lead to a national crisis commission. But that does not happen because men's violence against women has, for far too long, not been taken as seriously as is required.

Now we have the chance to announce the Riksdag's view on this to the government on a number of points. Let us take that chance! Men's violence against women must come to an end.

With this, Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish everyone a pleasant summer!

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Ulrika Westerlund (MP)

Mr. Speaker and dear colleagues, who are staying until this late hour! It is very pleasing that many measures have been taken to strengthen the work against honor-related violence and oppression. But more needs to be done to help those acutely vulnerable and to prevent children from being taken out of the country to be married off, subjected to female genital mutilation, or subjected to other forms of violence and coercion, including so-called "re-education trips" which can, among other things, involve conversion attempts aimed at LGBTQ+ persons. More also needs to be done to facilitate the return of children who have been abducted. A permanent coordination center should be established that can help children and young people who have been taken abroad to return home to Sweden.

It also needs to be ensured that the social services do not release information about the child to the guardian if it could pose an acute risk of the child being subjected to a crime. In order to detect and help more children who are subjected to or socialized into practicing honor oppression, the regional and municipal work should be improved, as well as the support to civil society organizations. Cooperation between authorities needs to be improved, and early interventions must be ensured. A resource center should also be established in each county to expand the access to help for those at risk.

All actors need to have the competence to identify honor-based oppression and act as early as possible to detect and help more children and young people who are subjected to or socialized into practicing honor-based oppression. It is central to the work that all victims are reached. All actors must ensure that all young people are reached, regardless of gender, gender identity or gender expression, or sexual orientation. The Government needs to take measures in accordance with this.

Mr. Speaker! Violence against women and other forms of violence in close relationships is a very serious societal problem. It is completely unacceptable that we do not succeed better in stopping a violence that, in the worst cases, ultimately becomes fatal.

Aftonbladet's ongoing investigation into deadly violence against women stated in May this year that 350 women in Sweden were killed between 2000 and 2022 by a man they had been in a relationship with. This must come to an end.

The support for those affected by violence must also be improved in many areas. I want to mention some of these.

Women can be subjected to deadly violence after they have signaled that they want to leave the perpetrator, which has also been pointed out by previous speakers. At that stage, a single contact should be sufficient to quickly obtain the protection that is needed. The government should therefore work to ensure that a woman who leaves a violent relationship receives a unified entry point to society's support.

It is also important that those subjected to violence receive support regarding post-violence. Men's violence against women does not end when the victim leaves the relationship; instead, it can transition into what is now commonly referred to as post-violence. Post-violence can consist of physical, psychological, economic, material, or legal violence.

The government should appoint a broad inquiry that maps out the expressions of post-violence and provides concrete proposals for solutions. The inquiry should cover the most common forms of post-violence, with a particular focus on economic post-violence. The inquiry should also include making it possible for victims of violence to find a safe solution for their pets. As more and more actors have emphasized in recent years, it is common for animals also to be subjected to violence by the same perpetrators.

Women who have been victims of violence and live with protected personal data should be offered a contact person by the municipality. The contact person shall provide support and guidance both in contacts with authorities and in practical everyday matters. At present, it is often civil society organizations that provide this support, often on a completely voluntary basis. I suspect that several of us here have met many of these civil society organizations and seen how they struggle to help people who have ended up completely outside of society and do not know what to do next to get the best support.

A contact person could also be responsible for helping the woman to find a safe and stable residence. The contact person shall be present as long as the need for protection persists.

The support from municipalities and authorities varies depending on where women and children at risk of violence with protected personal data live. In order to guarantee the same high level of protection and support throughout the country and to reduce the risk of mistakes, national guidelines for how authorities and other actors can work with the target group need to be developed.

Living with protected personal data often results in negative economic consequences for victims of violence. Many incur extra costs due to, for example, double housing and the fact that they may have to resign from their jobs in connection with their flight. A special support should therefore be established for persons living with protected personal data that can be applied for by the individual. It is also important that a fee is not charged for protected housing. That fee should be removed across the entire country.

Mr. Speaker! The grants that the women's shelters receive today are not sufficient. Permanent and state support is needed to ensure expertise and achieve stable operations that can provide women and children exposed to violence with the opportunity for high-quality help and support, regardless of where in the country they live. The Government should therefore work to ensure that the women's shelters are financed in the long term through state support. There should also be support for shelters that have other target groups, for example, hbtqi people exposed to violence.

Today, no permit is required to provide the intervention protected housing. The lack of uniform requirements entails obvious risks for the children and adults concerned and also hinders development work in the operations. In the memorandum *Ett fönster av möjligheter - stärkta rättigheter för barn och vuxna i skyddat boende*, it is proposed, among other things, that the intervention protected housing should be covered by specific quality requirements and a permit requirement. We think this proposal is good, and it should be implemented promptly.

I also want to mention something about a specific group's vulnerability. Authorities' and leaders' awareness of violence against the elderly needs to increase. Measures to counteract violence in close relationships among the elderly should therefore be included as an important part of a national elderly healthcare program. Even preventive measures to prevent violence and abuse when it concerns elderly persons should be covered by the program. The Government should review how a national elderly healthcare program where this is included can most appropriately be established.

I move for approval of reservation 15 but naturally stand behind all reservations from Miljöpartiet. I also naturally want to wish everyone a happy summer and so on and hope that the Midsummer celebration will be pleasant.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! This committee report concerns very many different subject areas that are very interesting, and there is much to say. But I will, as so far, focus on the lethal violence against women.

Woman found dead in freezer - man detained. Woman in Halmstad deceased, police investigating suspected murder. Pregnant Soliana dead after fall from balcony. Woman dead in Örebro - man detained for murder. Woman found dead in Luleå, man detained suspected of murder. Man detained for murder and attempted murder of mother and daughter.

These are some headlines in the newspapers during the first three months of the year. With approximately the same number of others that I have omitted, there were approximately twelve murdered women in twelve weeks. All are suspected crimes of passion, i.e., women murdered by men who they had or had had a relationship with. All had a name, a family, and an everyday life, and what remains is only a broken everyday life in the vicinity of these women.

And if twelve women in twelve weeks were not enough, we can continue into the thirteenth week:

Woman found dead in apartment in Falkenberg - preliminary investigation into murder. Woman found dead in caravan in Dalsland, suspected murder. Suspected murder of woman in Fagersta. Man suspected of murdering his wife in Falkenberg. Woman found dead in the forest outside Filipstad, suspected murder. Older man suspected of murder of woman in Ljusdal.

This was a documentation of over six murdered women in seven days. As we have heard, we were already up to almost 20 women in April, which means the average figure for the number of suspected murders in partner relationships over the last few years, only four months into the year.

Mr. Speaker! I also wonder what the big headlines are regarding this issue. I also wonder what the government's crisis plan is, because this is, of course, a crisis. When will the invitation to a crisis call with all the parties in the Riksdag arrive? What is the government's proposal to address this in the short term?

We have heard a lot tonight about how the priorities are different. Corresponding developments in gang criminal circles, which we have recently experienced, are followed by press conferences from the government with information on measures. That is good, but it is a catastrophe that they are missing because women are being murdered.

The Center Party has called ministers to the committees to obtain information on the government's work against men's violence against women and what should be done to stop the murders. We have heard about preventive measures, and we have read debate articles in newspapers. I do not know if we became much wiser from that.

We hear about preventive measures. We hear about repressive measures, which is somewhat symptomatic of the Tidö Agreement. That is good. We also need harsher penalties, but that does not save lives.

If we are to put a stop to the murder of women this year, the work with new intervention programs, which we have also heard about, will not help. Then, harsher sentences will not help, because by the time the sentence is handed down, the violence and the murders have already occurred.

The only thing that saves lives is getting women to leave the violent relationship early, and for them to manage that, society needs to be there with a unified, structured support that is not dependent on whether there are passionate individuals in the workplace, in the police, in social services, or in voluntary organizations. It must be a support that works in the entire country, regardless of whether one lives in Nordmaling, in Trelleborg, or in Stockholm.

There needs to be a contact person who follows the woman. The woman should not have to apply for any kind of grant. She should receive compensation for the suffering and the catastrophe she is exposed to. It is about reporting, protected housing, school, work, housing, and financial support. It is precisely such as what is worked on in, for example, the Igor project in southern Stockholm, which has been quite noticed lately. There are other project activities that work in a similar way, but they are precisely project activities. How good is that?

Leaving a violent relationship is the most dangerous. It is not something one does lightly. We have talked about children, pets, housing, and school. The most dangerous period is precisely when she leaves. Nevertheless, there is no structured and similar support across the country for this, despite there being such support for men who leave violent environments that they themselves have chosen to enter.

I think the comparison that the Gender Equality Authority established is striking. I cannot quite find the right words to describe the imbalance that we actually accept. We must do something about this.

We are actually voting on this in this chamber tomorrow. It is a tip. You can think about it overnight.

Finally, I want to say a few words about this matter of shifting focus. We hear that often from both the Tidö parties and the rest of the opposition, and that is good. Of course, it is not the woman who should have her life and her freedom restricted, but it is the man who strikes who should have his freedom restricted. But it is difficult to get there, I know that, but we must try to rethink in our brains.

One tip is to think about who is supposed to pay for what the perpetrator causes: Is it the perpetrator themselves, or is it the woman, the child, and the rest of society who are supposed to pay? One thought could be to let the perpetrator actually pay for their crimes eventually. Imagine if the perpetrator received an invoice from the municipality for every instance of violence, instead of women and children and society having to pay for the violence.

Think of it this way: He breaks her arm and pushes her into a wall. She flees with the children to a shelter. Imagine if an invoice arrives for the man:

Trauma therapy, tens of thousands of kronor.

Acute care, 1,200 kronor.

Pain medication, 500 kronor.

Occupational therapy when the arm has healed, 1,400 kronor per hour times ten.

Lost income, sick leave, lost pension contribution.

Police deployment with two police officers, tens of thousands of kronor.

14 days for women and their children in protected housing while awaiting a restraining order.

Processing of restraining orders. Once again, we are up to tens of thousands of kronor just there.

Safety alarm, 5,000 kronor, the woman may pay for it herself.

New phone, because hers was broken during the assault. The woman has to pay for it herself, 10,000 kronor.

Food and emergency clothing for the children.

Transport to and from healthcare and school during 14 days of sheltered housing.

We are up to hundreds of thousands of kronor that society has to pay when the man, or the perpetrator, commits violence. These calculations can, of course, be used when it concerns all forms of crime.

When one considers the costs of violence, specifically men's violence against women, it seems a bit foolish, I think, that it is the men who receive support in an exit program but not women. Then I do not think it works to, as in this report, propose that the social services should investigate crime victim support, that women should be able to apply for grants, or that we should improve the statistics. We need to establish a unified program that looks the same across the entire country in order to prevent more women from dying.

I would therefore like to thank you for today and wish everyone a pleasant evening and a pleasant summer. Thank you, the staff of the Chamber, for a very well-executed job!

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Carita Boulwén (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Helena Vilhelmsson, for your speech! There was much in it that I can agree with. As I previously mentioned, the preventive work is of immense importance, and it is something that I highlight in almost every speech I have here regarding the social services' work.

You talk a lot about women and about them having the opportunity to get somewhere when they have been subjected to violence, which should be a matter of course. But I am also thinking about the fact that violence breeds violence. Many who subject others to violence in close relationships have themselves witnessed or been subjected to violence. What does C have for proposals on preventive measures so that this does not happen? It is not just about measures when it has already occurred, but it is also about measures so that it does not happen.

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Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for a very important question. I want to emphasize that we naturally think, as I believe I mentioned in some exchange of remarks, that that work is just as important. It is about the preventive, about the operational, and about the financial support afterwards to get out of this. Everything is equally important. What I have chosen to focus on right now is the deadly violence, because it is extremely extensive this year.

I believe that one must start early in order to be able to prevent violence. We have a fantastic operation called ungarelationer.se. In the beginning, this government was actually a bit hesitant with its support. Ungarelationer.se has existed for a couple of years. Young people can call. They have a fantastic operation that meets a huge number of boys but also young girls.

I remember what struck me most when I read their report. The most common question they received was: Do you have to have a strangulation sex?

So it took.

It is very important that everyone is given the opportunity to speak about this. We also think that we have come a long way with the fact that we have a new sex education in school. I think that one must start talking about norms and values already in preschool. We must, above all, educate everyone who works with children and young people, because that is where we should start. One does not start hitting when one enters a relationship at the age of 25 or 30, but it is exactly as the member says: One has seen this before.

It is about powerful and ongoing continuing education and training for staff who meet children and young people so that they can see the signals and so that one can put a stop to harmful norms and language. Language is incredibly important.

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Carita Boulwén (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Digitalization in all its glory, but it is also the case that everything becomes very accessible. Today we meet young people who themselves say they are a porn-damaged generation. It is violent sex - you mentioned this with strangulation sex. It is violence that reaches children early. They are reached by it in digital forums.

I think that all adults have a responsibility for how they behave, how they conduct themselves, how they speak to one another and what they themselves do for something.

I am thinking about radio and TV. We have talked about gangster rap, where violence is glorified, and so on. There is a lot that affects children and young people and that we need to handle.

In the investigation report "Breaking a Violent Behavior," the possibility of introducing a voluntary residential support form for potential perpetrators of violence is mentioned so that they can receive help to break their behavior. What is the Center Party's view on this?

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Helena Vilhelmsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! I will start by mentioning something that I actually forgot earlier. I did not list it, but the member and many others from the government parties did. It concerns the support for parents, which is of course very important. We cannot say that all responsibility lies with the officials who meet children and young people. It is also about the parents, of course. They need all the support they can get, not least when it comes to digitalization.

I am glad that the member is raising the issue of violent pornography. Today's young generation can be regarded as an experimental generation. I am glad that we have had our party take steps towards movement. Now we are talking about web filters. We are even talking about a kind of BankID or verification so that one can actually be able to view material. That is in other countries. We can look at that here as well.

I have personally, together with members from the old alliance parties, had very productive conversations with the telecommunications operators, who also have a responsibility. One must not forget the business community's responsibility here. We put them on the spot and asked: Do you market your web filters in the phones when parents buy phones for their children? Is it free of charge? It is not a large sum for them. They were very good conversations.

In conclusion, the member raises the incredibly important question of how we shall ensure that the perpetrators actually never strike again. Yes, I think, of course, that one should look at different forms of treatment. To the extent that we believe it is valuable, it will naturally also cost society's resources, because it is worth everything that the perpetrators never strike again. I welcome all forms of activity for this. There are also municipalities that have tested this by having the perpetrator be the one who has to move. It is also interesting to look at that and to raise it further.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 21 June.)

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