Response to interpellation 2022/23:62 on measures against Ukrainian refugees being forced into prostitution
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns measures against Ukrainian refugees being forced into prostitution. L argues that prostitution causes serious harm and that human trafficking is a form of men's violence against women 1. L wants to use the possibilities in the Aliens Act for temporary residence permits for crime victims 1, toughen penalties for sexual crimes, and increase support for crime victims 2. L emphasizes that vulnerability should not constitute grounds for deportation 2 and wants to prioritize human trafficking during the Swedish EU presidency 2. MP argues that Ukrainian refugees are economically vulnerable and should receive the same rights as other refugees. MP wants that women who are exploited should always be granted crime victim status 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam President! Annika Hirvonen has asked me what measures I and the government intend to take to ensure that no Ukrainian refugee is forced into prostitution. Annika Hirvonen has also asked me whether I and the government intend to take any other measures concerning women who are exploited in prostitution than those that appear in the Tidö Agreement, and if so, which ones.
Madam Speaker! Let me begin by stating that persons exploited in prostitution are often in a state of great vulnerability. Prostitution causes serious harm to both individual persons and society as a whole. Persons in prostitution are also most often victims of crimes such as pimping or human trafficking for sexual purposes. Human trafficking for sexual purposes is also a serious form of violence against women.
The possibilities in the Aliens Act for temporary residence permits for crime victims during ongoing criminal investigations shall continue to be used. It is important that crime victims are given a chance for redress and the support of society, regardless of whether it concerns human trafficking or other crimes, regardless of whether the crime victim supports themselves through prostitution or in some other way, and regardless of whether it concerns women or men. Furthermore, since August 1 of this year, the social welfare committee can also apply for a period of reflection for those who can be assumed to have been subjected to human trafficking or human exploitation.
Madam President! We cannot accept that women, girls and boys fleeing war are subjected to sexual exploitation or human trafficking in Sweden. Victims of crime who are subjected to prostitution shall receive equal support regardless of where in Sweden they are located. In my previous service as a prosecutor, I have noted that the support for this target group can differ across the country. The government's objective is to create good and equal conditions for all municipalities and regions.
The ban on the purchase, but not the sale, of sexual services constitutes a central link in the work against inequality and injustice. It is also an important tool in the work against human trafficking for sexual purposes and to long-term combat the demand that drives prostitution and human trafficking. According to evaluations, the law has had a normalizing effect, but efforts to further combat demand continue.
The Gender Equality Authority has an overarching mandate to promote the development of preventive measures against both exploitation in prostitution and human trafficking for all purposes. Likewise, it is the Gender Equality Authority that is responsible for coordinating the work against human trafficking for all purposes at the national level, developing cooperation between authorities and other actors, including international actors, as well as assisting the authorities with methodological support and competence development.
Within the framework of its preventive mandate, the Gender Equality Authority has carried out measures in response to demand. A very important measure to protect adults and children from being subjected to human trafficking and exploitation is that the relevant authorities work together to disseminate information to risk groups, which they will continue to do.
The ongoing investigation Exit program for persons exposed to prostitution (A 2022:4) shall, among other things, submit proposals on the design and organization of an exit program for adults who are exposed to prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes. The investigation shall also assess how Sweden fulfills international commitments regarding identification, protection, support, and return for victims of human trafficking and, if necessary, propose measures to develop the work. I look forward to reviewing the investigation's proposals for how we can strengthen a very vulnerable group.
In conclusion, I can state that the government's work covers more areas than the Tidö Agreement. I will not anticipate the government's work by presenting here any measures that have not been decided by the government.
Annika Hirvonen (MP)
Madam President! Recently, P4 Malmöhus reported an alarming increase in the number of Ukrainian refugees being exploited in prostitution. Ukrainian women now constitute the single largest group of women exploited in prostitution among those that Jämställdhetsmyndigheten has become aware of. Jämställdhetsmyndigheten points out that the incredibly vulnerable situation it entails to have protection under the mass flight directive is a factor behind this.
The fact is that the Ukrainian refugees have poorer rights in Sweden and are economically extremely much more vulnerable than other refugees who receive protection and the right to stay in Sweden. The Ukrainian refugees, women, are allowed to live on 71 kronor a day. 71 kronor is the same daily allowance that one had in 1995. It has, therefore, not been adjusted over nearly 30 years. It is poverty to try to survive on 71 kronor a day. And economic vulnerability makes the Ukrainian women much more vulnerable to different types of exploitation, for example in prostitution.
We in Miljöpartiet want to give Ukrainian refugees the same rights as all other refugees who are granted the right to stay in Sweden. This would, among other things, mean that they receive an establishment allowance that is several times higher than the daily allowance that these women and children are currently forced to try to survive on.
Furthermore, it is the case that even though Ukrainian refugees are granted the right to work in Sweden, we all know that it is very difficult to get a job if one cannot speak at least basic Swedish. But the Ukrainian refugees do not have the right to SFI. They also do not have the right to participate in the establishment program, where each person receives a specific plan to be able to establish themselves on the labor market and obtain their own livelihood.
We in Miljöpartiet already took the initiative in the Education Committee on March 17 this year to give Ukrainian refugees the right to Swedish for immigrants just so they can have an opportunity to learn sufficient Swedish to be able to get a job. Then the Liberals supported our proposal, and a few weeks later the Liberals came with their own proposal with the same meaning.
Madam Speaker! I would like to ask the Minister for Equality, who is also a Liberal, if she will push for these very important changes for Ukrainian refugees so that they can have a livelihood they can manage on. On one hand, it is about an establishment allowance, and on the other, the chance to gain access to the Swedish language and a plan so that they can become self-sufficient through work.
Madam Speaker! Right now, we are leaving these women in the lurch. Far too many have ended up in the clutches of traffickers who exploit them to sell sex, and it is appalling.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam President! Two months ago, I worked as a prosecutor. One of the areas I worked with was human trafficking. In that work, I have worked extensively with prostitution, pimping, and human trafficking for sexual purposes.
I have also established close contacts with police officers who work with this both in outer service and in the police's human trafficking section. I still speak with them to get a picture of this situation. They testify that there is an explosive increase of Ukrainian women being exploited in prostitution. We must take this seriously. It is then important, of course, to find the right measures to help this group.
The police officers I am speaking about who work with this daily, however, tell me that they basically do not see any cases where refugees who have come to Sweden end up in prostitution. The Ukrainian women who are in prostitution in Sweden have come here in the same way as we have previously seen when it concerns women from, for example, Romania or certain countries in Africa. They come here through human traffickers who have organized a journey. They are here for shorter periods to earn money through prostitution, which they can later take back to Ukraine. This is what several police officers I have spoken with have said in unison.
Madam Speaker! When measures are to be taken for this vulnerable group, it is important that the measures taken are those that actually make a difference. The unemployment benefit is used for those who have arrived through the organized refugee reception. That issue is not relevant when it comes to handling this question. I agree that it is important that we must have a good reception for Ukrainian refugees. But when it comes to prostitution, we miss the mark if we believe that we solve this by addressing that issue.
Instead, we must of course work with the police and the justice system's capabilities to handle that form of human trafficking. In that case, the justice system's resources are of decisive importance. I am therefore pleased that this government has invested large sums of money in strengthening the justice system, both the police and prosecutors, so that a much more effective work can be carried out to tackle organized sex trafficking. It is in that way we can address this issue, not by handling the daily allowance.
Annika Hirvonen (MP)
Madam Speaker! I note that the Minister for Equality does not share the view expressed by the Gender Equality Authority in connection with the reporting from P4 Malmöhus regarding Ukrainian refugees in prostitution. There, it is stated that the vulnerable situation that it entails to have protection under the mass flight directive is a factor behind the alarming increase in the number of Ukrainian women in prostitution.
From my side and the Green Party's side, regardless of the issues, it would be obvious to ensure that one has a compensation that it is actually possible to live on. 71 kronor a day is not enough for food and clothes for an adult person. The Swedish Migration Agency has even rejected extra requests for compensation for winter shoes. It is not possible to manage on the compensation that exists today. The Gender Equality Authority also points out that it is a factor behind the increased number of women from Ukraine who are in prostitution.
Madam President! I am, however, very pleased that the Minister for Equality promises that the investigation into exit programs from prostitution, which we in Miljöpartiet initiated, shall continue and that the conclusions shall form the basis for measures. This is welcome because much more needs to be done generally to provide those who are exploited with protection, support, and opportunities to leave prostitution.
In the Tidö Agreement, however, we can read about a measure that goes in the opposite direction. The only thing written about prostitution specifically in the Tidö Agreement is that it shall constitute grounds for deportation on the basis of lack of conduct, i.e., an additional punishment for the person who is a crime victim and is exploited in prostitution.
I was last contacted this morning by a woman who herself has experience of being exploited in prostitution. She pleaded with us politicians. She wrote: The government must never give buyers weapons against us. It will only become another legitimate death threat against the vulnerable. A chokehold so that someone's head pops off is a common request. Should my sisters not dare to say no to that, with the risk of deportation? No!
Madam Speaker! If one says that one is going to improve information and make various investments in the justice system to tackle prostitution but at the same time makes those who are exploited so afraid to seek help because they risk deportation due to lack of good conduct, one does not strengthen the exploited. One strengthens the criminals', the buyers', opportunity to exploit, abuse, and rape the women who today are exploited in prostitution. That would be catastrophic. We already have all too poor support.
Miljöpartiet wants to give women and girls who are exploited in prostitution victim status, always. I am concerned that the government instead gives the criminals more weapons.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! Regarding the compensations for persons who have been granted residence permits according to the mass influx directive, an interpellation has been submitted to the Minister for Migration, which will be debated in the Riksdag on January 24. I believe, therefore, that the discussion is better continued in that interpellation debate, also because I believe that it does not have such great significance in this context.
Regarding the question of misconduct, it has been raised in several interpellations and in several contexts to the government. I have answered it, the Prime Minister has answered it, the Minister for Migration has answered it, and the Minister for Justice has answered the same thing: that vulnerability will not constitute grounds for deportation. The state of being in a vulnerable situation will not constitute grounds for deportation on the basis of lack of misconduct. This we have said unanimously. It still applies.
It is, however, positive that Miljöpartiet shows an interest in issues concerning crime victims. I truly think that perspective has been conspicuously absent during the time that Miljöpartiet has been part of the government or the government base for the Socialdemokraterna. This government has marked very clearly in the Tidö Agreement that the crime victim perspective is something that we take seriously, in a completely different way than previous governments have done.
We will tighten the penalties for sexual offenses and violence in close relationships. We will even open up for life sentences in the absolutely most serious cases. We will have more detentions. We will have stay-away orders for men who have subjected women to violence in close relationships. We will have more contact prohibitions. And we will have more support for crime victims. That perspective has shone completely in its absence in the previous government's policy. It is something that this government takes very seriously. There will be a paradigm shift in Swedish politics.
Madam Speaker! The issue of prostitution is very important. As has already been pointed out, it is an incredibly vulnerable group. It is important that work is carried out that is effective and that aims at the right measures.
Sweden will take over the presidency of the EU starting from January 1. Within the framework of this EU presidency, we will, among other things, organize a conference on precisely human trafficking for sexual purposes. This is important. If one is to address the issue, which is most often cross-border, one must have international cooperation. The Government will prioritize and put pressure on the issue during the Swedish EU presidency, in addition to the fact that we will work on the issue nationally.
I look forward, as I have said, very much to the result of the exit investigation, which it is positive that the previous government commissioned.
Annika Hirvonen (MP)
Madam Speaker! I am pleased that the government promises to prioritize this issue. I nevertheless want to ask three straight questions to the Minister for Equality.
Is she prepared to give all women who are exploited in prostitution victim status, as Miljöpartiet proposes?
Does the Minister for Equality share the Green Party's view that all women who are exploited in prostitution are vulnerable?
Can we once and for all get a straight answer confirming that no person shall be deported from Sweden because they are engaged in prostitution, despite what is stated about this in the Tidö Agreement's paragraph on lack of integrity?
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam President! I received three questions. Annika Hirvonen wondered if the government intends to grant all prostitutes victim status. As I said initially, this government will develop its policy as it goes. It is not possible to go into details in advance regarding what conclusions we will land on beyond what is in the Tidö Agreement. Therefore, it is not a question I can answer.
When it comes to my view of whether prostitutes live in vulnerability, I can absolutely say, based on the work I have done for several years with this group, that I have never seen a woman in prostitution who has not been in vulnerability. That is my own professional experience.
We have answered the question of prostitution many times. What is stated in the Tidö Agreement is that the issue shall be investigated. The reason why prostitution is included in the list in this clause in the Tidö Agreement is that the investigation shall aim at whether a legal rule that existed in Swedish law until 2005 should be reintroduced, and that prostitution was included in the preparatory works for this earlier legislation. We will, of course, then take part in the investigation. It will appear in the investigation that this is a vulnerable group. Then we will take a position on how we proceed.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you for the debate and wish you a Merry Christmas.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.