Response to interpellation 2024/25:46 on violence against elderly women
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L argues that all elderly people should live in safety and that the government is working to combat violence against women and in close relationships 1. L emphasizes that the elderly are particularly vulnerable due to dependency and economic factors 1 2. L argues that the government is implementing a shift in perspective in justice policy 3, is making major investments in the justice system 3 and is implementing legislative proposals to lower the requirements for restraining orders 3. L argues that the ISK reform enables more people to leave violent relationships 4 and that the government is investigating the legislation regarding the division of property 4. S considers that elderly women are often a forgotten group 5. S wants psychological violence to be criminalized 5. S calls for more forms of cooperation 5 and argues that psychological violence is not taken seriously 6. S thinks that the Gender Equality Authority's proposal lacks competence, resources, and cooperation 6. S argues that the government must take greater economic responsibility 6 and wants a baseline where state grants are adjusted for inflation 7. S argues that the government's budget does not provide sufficient room for maneuver for elderly women who need to leave a relationship 8.
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 Speaker! Sanna Backeskog has asked the Minister for Justice what he intends to do so that more cases of violence against the elderly are prevented, detected, and stopped. The interpellation has been handed over to me.
I would like to begin by thanking the member for the opportunity to discuss this important issue. All elderly people should be able to live their lives in safety and freedom from violence. This is a self-evident part of both the government's crime prevention work and the work to combat men's violence against women, violence in close relationships, and honor-related violence and oppression.
To counter crime and increase safety, we need to combine initiatives on the justice system and criminal law measures with effective and proactive crime prevention work.
The work to combat men's violence against women, violence in close relationships, as well as honor-related violence and oppression continues on a broad front and with full force. This work includes making visible and supporting particularly vulnerable groups and individuals, such as elderly people who are subjected to violence.
The Gender Equality Authority was commissioned by the government in June 2023 to map the knowledge of municipalities, regions, and authorities regarding exposure to violence among persons over 65 years of age. On September 15, 2024, the authority submitted the report A Dignified Life - Aging Free from Violence to the government. The mapping shows that violence against the elderly is often not detected within care and nursing, and that elderly persons often do not know that they can access the support that society provides to those exposed to violence. Staff within, among others, elderly care and health and medical care also often lack knowledge about violence against the elderly.
As the member points out, the elderly can be particularly vulnerable because their dependence on their surroundings, both on relatives and on staff, may have increased. They can be subjected to violence in partner relationships and by relatives, but also by staff within healthcare and care. Knowledge about violence against the elderly is still deficient, and the support for those who are subjected to it needs to become better.
The Gender Equality Authority's report also shows that older people can be subjected to economic violence by being deprived of access to money and bank logins. On 30 May 2024, the Government gave a number of agencies with client-facing activities a mandate to compile and disseminate information to their target groups regarding the economic aspects of violence in close relationships. Since economic violence can be exercised in different contexts, and since certain groups may be particularly vulnerable, the measures shall be tailored to the target groups to meet the individual needs of those affected. The mandate shall be final-reported on 26 February 2026.
For the government, these are high-priority issues. In June, we decided on an action program with 132 points to combat men's violence against women, violence in close relationships, honor-related violence and oppression, as well as prostitution and human trafficking.
Sanna Backeskog (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Equality for the answers. I truly look forward to a forward-looking discussion here in the chamber this evening.
Older women who are subjected to violence are a group that is drawn attention to all too rarely. At the same time, precisely older women can find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation. It can be about being in a position of dependency due to care needs, but it can also be about the violence having lasted so long that it has been totally normalized and feels very shameful to talk about.
Poor economy and low pensions increase vulnerability. Lack of knowledge and stereotypical perceptions that older women cannot be subjected to violence, or that older men cannot be perpetrators, entail risks regarding the ability to detect and prosecute the violence.
In my constituency, this important issue has been highlighted by local media. Arbetarbladet has just written about the newly started tantjourer (elderly crisis centers) run by the kvinnojourerna (women's shelters) in Gävle and Sandviken. Thanks to external funds, they have been able to start this in project form. Their experience also shows that the elderly are often a forgotten and vulnerable group. On P4 Gävleborg, criminologist Anders Östlund emphasized that violence in relationships between elderly people, when it has finally become known, has often been ongoing for an incredibly long time. These individuals have been exposed to violence their entire lives.
Madam Speaker! Violence does not go into retirement. The Gender Equality Authority's report, which the Minister referred to, highlights the same problems. That being said, it is good that both authorities and various media outlets are now making visible the issues and the deficiencies that exist in society regarding prejudices, resources, routines, and competence. I think it is very good that we can have this interpellation debate today.
I appreciate several parts of the Minister for Equality's response, and I naturally agree 100 percent with the statement that all older people should be able to live their lives in safety and free from violence. To achieve that, both investments in the justice system and criminal justice measures as well as clear crime-preventing measures are required.
It is also good that psychological violence is being raised more and more in the discourse on men's violence against women. It can involve repeated violations and disparaging comments or neglect – not helping the person in a position of dependency. Often, it is about taking control over and restricting the entire victim's living space and all social relations, which can become extra difficult for someone who is older and perhaps no longer works for a living but instead spends all their days with their perpetrator.
It can also be about economic violence, just as the minister mentioned, i.e., having complete control over someone else's finances, withholding income, wasting savings, or indebting them. Psychological violence is, with today's legislation, very difficult to address.
When it comes to violence by men against older women, there are many issues that I want to raise and discuss with the Minister for Equality today. I will therefore begin with two questions now.
Madam Speaker! Regarding the detection and prosecution of violence, I and my party believe that the government needs to move the investigation on criminal liability for psychological abuse forward and ensure that psychological violence becomes criminalized. What is the Minister's position on this?
Furthermore, the police and the police's cooperation with other actors are crucial for prosecuting these serious criminals. In Bollnäs, there is something called Trygghetens hus, where a designated police officer and employees from the social services cooperate with the local women's shelter and the crime victim support center in constant dialogue with the municipality and the health centers. Does the Minister see that perhaps more of such forms of cooperation are needed in Sweden?
Anna Wallentheim (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by thanking my colleague Sanna Backeskog for an incredibly important interpellatory debate that highlights something that unfortunately all too often remains invisible, namely violence against older women.
Violence against women is a major societal problem with an all-too-large dark figure regardless of which type of violence against women we are talking about, and we must always keep that in mind when we talk about crime. When it affects older women, the situation often becomes even more complicated and harder to detect, because with age comes an increased dependence on others, both on relatives and on staff within health and social care, which makes these women particularly vulnerable.
Madam Speaker! Many may not think about the fact that when it comes to violence against elderly women, the perpetrator is often a close relative. It can be the woman's own son, it can be a daughter-in-law or a brother. It can also be a partner. In these cases, the violence can involve both psychological and physical abuse, but also control and neglect. When a woman needs help with the most basic things, such as going to the toilet or getting out of bed, there is therefore a risk that she becomes dependent on her perpetrator. The person who commits the violence holds a position of power that can be very difficult to break.
For older women who have left the workforce, the points of contact with the outside world also decrease. Colleagues or a manager who might have discovered signs of violence are no longer there, and the social isolation means that the violence can continue without anyone reacting. At the same time, we have seen alarming reports of abuse and neglect within elderly care, reports that our elderly are not safe even in the place where they should be safest – in their own home.
During the autumn, we have unfortunately read about cases from, for example, Uppsala municipality, where it has emerged that home care staff, who are supposed to be a support and a security, have exploited their position and subjected elderly women to both rape and other sexual assaults. This is a betrayal at the very highest level.
Even more alarming, of course, is that it has emerged that in one of the cases, the man was not removed from duty even when the woman had broken down and told her caseworker about the rape. For several days, the person in question was able to continue visiting the elderly and vulnerable. When people then went out and informed others about what had happened, further women came forward.
This is not unique to Uppsala; unfortunately, we see reports all over Sweden of home care staff subjecting those they are there to help to [abuse/mistreatment].
This clearly points to serious deficiencies in how we organize and monitor our care. People who do not belong within the welfare system, people who commit criminal acts, are thus succeeding in obtaining employment within, for example, home care, which is completely unacceptable. Our elderly women deserve safety and respect, and we need to review the entire structure - from how we recruit and train staff to how we monitor the care to ensure that these crimes never happen again.
In view of this, I would like to ask the Minister the following question: How does the government believe we can act nationally so that older women do not have to be afraid of violence and abuse from the persons who are tasked with caring for them?
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! Thanks to the interpellor and the member for the remarks!
I completely share the view that this is an issue that has fallen into the shadows and that we have talked about too little. This is not a new problem but a problem that has existed for a very long time. But when we have talked about men's violence against women, we have often envisioned people of working age and middle age.
That this is an issue that needs to be highlighted is also the reason why the government gave the assignment to the Gender Equality Authority, where we have received black and white on how widespread the problem is. We see that older people have a particular vulnerability depending on a more difficult economy. It can also have to do with cognitive decline. Sometimes the vulnerability to violence may have existed for as long as the relationship has existed, but it can also be that a cognitive decline gives rise to an aggressiveness that causes one to begin subjecting their partner to violence in older years.
This complexity means that this is a problem that requires special solutions. Member Wallentheim also raised the problem that we actually have staff within, among other things, elderly care who commit violence against this group.
I am glad that we have now received the report from the Gender Equality Authority, where they point out the various underlying factors and also point out the need for specific solutions. When it comes to men's violence against women and violence in close relationships, we cannot work from a one-size-fits-all approach, but we need specific solutions that specifically reach this group. We also, of course, need to address the problems among those who actually work with these individuals.
The report from the Gender Equality Authority, which is currently being prepared within the Government Offices, also contains several concrete proposals for solutions that we will have to return to. Among others, the Gender Equality Authority proposes that requirements for a mandatory extract from the suspicion and penalty register should be introduced when hiring staff within elderly care. It is a concrete proposal that the government is now preparing.
When we work with this problem, and as we have also addressed in the action program of 132 points and in the national strategy that the government has now commissioned an inquiry to update, it is important that we actually see that vulnerability looks very different for different groups and requires special solutions. I look forward to taking part in the final report regarding the national strategy, and the government will of course continue to work with the 132 points and ensure that no one exposed to violence is left behind.
Sanna Backeskog (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Equality for her answer and for the clarification that we need special solutions for specially vulnerable groups.
I want to comment on the two issues that I raised in my first post.
Specialized expertise in a number of areas is necessary to solve crimes, prosecute the perpetrators and provide support to crime victims. It is known that experience and specific competence are crucial for saving lives.
Here we see Social Democrats concerned that the police are ending targeted projects against crimes in close relationships. The police must handle crimes regarding men's violence against women in the same way as other serious crimes. The dedicated specialist groups in some police regions have, with some exceptions, disappeared in recent years. Integrating that activity into the line, or prioritizing other important interventions for a shorter or longer period, often means that competence and methods of work disappear. These are abilities that are difficult to build up again, and it is the people who are subjected to serious violence in close relationships who pay the price. We need more Trygghetens hus, more cooperation and more with specialist knowledge, not fewer.
Regarding the psychological violence, the Socialstyrelsen's latest report on injury and death investigations shows how serious the connection between psychological and physical violence actually is and that there are several cases where only psychological violence had occurred before a murder was committed. It is also seen that the psychological violence is not taken seriously when a person seeks help for it.
The Minister of Justice promised me during the spring of 2023 that we would chase him with blue lights if a bill was not in place within a year. To my disappointment, the bill is conspicuous by its absence.
When it comes to preventing and detecting violence that older women are subjected to, I think most of the Equality Agency's proposals to the government are good. Many of the shortcomings seen are the same as many of us have raised in the chamber regarding men's violence against women. There are many important laws and guidelines. But sometimes there is a lack of competence and resources, and there is a lack of real cooperation.
If one has ever sat down with Kommunal or has practiced with an employee within the home care service, one knows that the work situation for welfare employees is far from smooth. I am convinced that the vast majority of employees would say yes to a conference about learning more about how violence can be detected and how one should handle and act upon it.
I am also convinced that one would gladly stay a moment longer with the users to talk in peace and notice if something is not right. It is in the municipalities and in the regions where the most important preventive work takes place, and it is the welfare workers who should have the best conditions to see and detect violence. But when the regions are running with large deficits and the municipalities are alarming about a tougher economic situation than during the 90s crisis, I mean that a greater financial responsibility is required from the government.
I also want to advocate for civil society. Many victims of violence can testify to what fantastic support the country's women's helplines and crime victim helplines can provide. There is a very special power in civil society, and the helplines are needed to offer support to the individual and also to engage and educate, shape opinion, and be an important voice in the social debate.
Civil society is an important part of our fundamental democracy, but it also needs long-term and secure funding. In my county, all women's shelters have had to put their protected housing on hold because the new legislation is underfunded. The funds for activities and premises are also decreasing in many cases, and this is happening at the same time as the crime victim support's funds from Socialstyrelsen for the work with violence in close relationships have decreased by 66 percent over the last two years, which of course has an impact on the operations.
Therefore, I ask the Minister for Equality for a dialogue with the other government parties and to push the issue of more resources for support for those affected by violence.
Anna Wallentheim (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
Of course, we must set demands on those who are appointed to care for our elderly and on increasing knowledge about these issues among staff within elderly care and within health and medical care.
Just as the Minister himself mentions, it can be read in the Gender Equality Authority's report that violence against the elderly is often not detected or that staff within the welfare sector often have a lack of knowledge about what violence against the elderly looks like or how it should be handled.
The will exists, however, as several municipalities are actively working to increase knowledge about violence against the elderly. Many within elderly care testify that they really want to learn more. But unfortunately, this will often clashes with the reality we see today within the welfare sector.
The ongoing welfare crisis, the healthcare crisis which involves savings and layoffs, makes it difficult to reverse this trend. A lack of time and resources simply makes it difficult to provide the staff with the knowledge and tools they need to identify and act upon suspicions of violence.
We Social Democrats want to achieve a systemic shift in the form of a foundation for Swedish welfare. The foundation means that the general state grants to welfare shall be adjusted upwards in line with inflation and cost increases every year to ensure a secure and safe welfare. The money that the government presents as an investment does not cover the cost increases we see, and it means larger cuts within welfare and healthcare.
My final question to the Minister is therefore: Is the government prepared to vote yes to our proposal for a floor so that resource shortages within the welfare system never become an obstacle to protecting our elderly against violence and abuse?
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! I said in my previous contribution that this is a problem that requires special solutions, but I want to be careful to note that there are solutions that this government is presenting on a broad front which are of great importance for the group.
It has been mentioned in the debate that the police's work plays a major role. These are crimes that often remain unsolved and are practically entirely unpunished. We need specialist knowledge and cooperation.
Madam Speaker! The crisis we have had with skyrocketing crime has put the Swedish police and the entire justice system in a situation where they have neither managed to solve organized crime, this type of serious crime, or other crime that affects people in our country.
The government has therefore made major investments in the justice system in the budget so that it can cope with even this type of crime. At the same time, we have taken measures so that more people can apply to the Police University so that we can get more police officers.
We have also presented concrete legislative proposals that are very important even in this context.
When I previously worked as a prosecutor, I had a case with an 80-year-old woman. We can call her Birgitta. She had developed cancer, and she decided to leave the violent relationship she lived in with the violent Bertil. Bertil refused to accept this, and he continued to harass her every day. Despite the fact that she applied for a restraining order, which she received, he contacted her every day and wrote letters to her. Time and again, I requested that Bertil be remanded in custody, and time and again it was judged that he would not be remanded in custody because he was 86 years old. This story ended with Birgitta dying of her cancer. She was never free, and she had to die harassed by Bertil.
This story shows so clearly the importance of the shift in perspective in crime policy that this government is implementing, namely a shift in perspective where the perspective of the crime victims plays a role. We shall not let sick people die harassed by perpetrators because we do not dare to intervene sufficiently powerfully against the perpetrator.
The government is implementing this important shift in perspective, and one piece of this puzzle is that we are reviewing the legislation on restraining orders. We are lowering the requirements for a restraining order to be issued in the first place. We are ensuring that more restraining orders are combined with electronic ankle bracelets and that they can cover larger geographical areas - in some cases entire municipalities. The government has now received an inquiry with these proposals, and we are now ensuring their implementation. Had that legislation existed when I had the case with Bertil and Birgitta, Birgitta could have died in peace, and I believe that would have played a very large role for her.
I am glad that we are carrying out this shift in perspective. It will help not only the elderly but, of course, very many victims of violence in our country.
Sanna Backeskog (S)
Madam Speaker! Yes, the investigation on restraining orders that our government commissioned is extremely important, and I am pleased that the work on a bill is moving forward. I hope that the same applies to the investigation on psychological violence. I believe that even that one could make a difference for those subjected to violence, regardless of age.
I would like to highlight an additional perspective in tonight's debate.
During the Riksdag's question time on September 26, Member of Parliament Sofia Amloh asked a question regarding how rich men are the big winners in the government's budget. Amloh simultaneously highlighted that six out of ten women feel that they cannot leave their relationship for economic reasons. The Minister for Equality then answered that the government, in its budget, enables all people to have a so-called "fuck off-capital" through the ISK reform.
Madam Speaker! Violence can exist in all social classes and at all ages. Having a high income is no protection against being subjected to severe violence by a partner, but one's income can still play a role when it comes to the conditions for daring to leave the relationship.
From DN's review of the government's budget, we can see that a single high-income earner is left with 1,300 kronor a month in their wallet, while a retired couple gets 300 kronor together. If they share it fairly, each person can therefore save 150 kronor in an ISK account. That does not leave much room for maneuver for a 75-year-old woman who needs to leave her partner. We also know that when one is subjected to violence, the violence often includes economic violence, which means that the person subjected to violence never sees any capital of their own.
Madam Speaker! I am pleased that the Minister for Equality and we agree on the seriousness of violence against the elderly, and I am pleased that work is underway on many levels. I also have great respect for the Minister for Equality's experience as a prosecutor.
I still see the major dividing line in the economic priorities, because if a difference is to be noticed at the individual level and if more perpetrators are to be prosecuted and crime victims receive support and protection, more money is required that is felt in the wallet, in elderly care and in social services, at the police, at the health centers and in our important voluntary emergency services.
With that, I would like to thank you very much for tonight's debate.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! I want to begin by thanking you for the important debate we have had here tonight.
When it comes to the so-called "fuck off" capital, it is very important to enable more people to leave violent relationships or relationships that they do not want to stay in for some other reason. The ISK reform is one piece of the puzzle but of course not the entire solution. It is also not something that everyone can use, because simply not everyone has that buffer.
This government has presented a budget for growth. We are lowering taxes in order to achieve growth and strengthen our prosperity in the long run. We have also had budgets that have had the purpose of fighting inflation, which has played a completely decisive role in making the money go further for those with the least in their wallets.
When it comes to the economic freedom needed to be able to free oneself, I also want to highlight that the government is about to appoint an inquiry to review the legislation surrounding the division of property so that one can, in a better way than today, obtain the money one is entitled to after a division of property and so that the division of property regulations shall not be used as a tool in economic violence, which is often done today.
Regarding the issue of psychological violence, I can answer that it is also a matter being prepared within the Government Offices, so we will also be able to return to that issue.
As I have said, I really want to thank you for today's debate and for us together shedding light on this important issue.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.