Response to interpellation 2025/26:438 on the closure of women's shelters

Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Madam Speaker! Sofia Amloh has asked me how I intend to act so that women's shelters do not have to shut down their important operations.

I would like to begin by thanking the interpellor for the question.

That violence by men against women, violence in close relationships, exploitation in prostitution and human trafficking, and honor-related violence and oppression shall cease is a high priority for the government.

The Government values the important work that the women's shelters (kvinnojourerna) carry out regarding victim support activities and the protected housing that some women's shelters operate.

Regarding the victim support activities of women's and girls' shelters, the government allocates funds through several grant regulations from which the non-profit organizations can apply for funds. One such grant regulation is the state subsidy to women's and girls' shelters and certain other non-profit organizations within the victim support area. From 2026 onwards, the government has increased the permanent level of the grant regulation from 165 million kronor to 185 million kronor per year, which is the highest permanent level ever.

The government is also concerned that women's and girls' shelters continue to have the conditions to operate protected housing. It is the social welfare committee that is responsible for ensuring that individuals who need support and protection as a result of threats, violence, or other abuses can be received in a protected housing. The reform on protected housing aims to improve the protection for those who are in need of protected housing and to strengthen the children's rights perspective for children who accompany a guardian to such a housing.

The Government's starting point in this context is the individual's right to support, help, and protection in cases of vulnerability to violence and other abuses. The Government has taken several initiatives to facilitate municipalities' procurement of the intervention of protected housing from non-profit actors, for example through a mandate to the National Agency for Public Procurement and a temporary state grant for quality-enhancing measures in protected housing operated by non-profit organizations. The intention is to facilitate in all respects for the women's and girls' shelters that wish to operate protected housing. It is, however, up to the municipalities themselves to design their procurements and ultimately choose which protected housing they can place on.

This government has stepped up the preventive work and is allocating more funds to the equality policy than any previous government to prevent and stop men's violence against women, violence in close relationships, exploitation in prostitution and human trafficking, as well as honor-related violence and oppression.

During 2026, the government has earmarked 640 million kronor for the work against violence and oppression within the equality policy. In the supplementary budget for 2026, the government has proposed an additional 20 million kronor and earmarked further funds to intensify the work against men's violence against women. The money is proposed to go, among other things, to a national campaign against lethal violence against women, to improve support for those subjected to violence, and to prevent sexual violence.

Overall, during the mandate period, the government has strengthened support for women's and girls' shelters and certain other non-profit organizations within the crime victim area so that they can continue to provide support to those exposed to violence and also operate protected housing on the municipalities' behalf for those who choose to do so.

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Sofia Amloh (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Minister! This is an incredibly important issue, because the ultimate consequences of an unequal society are when women and children need to flee for their lives. In this incredibly vulnerable situation, women and children should be able to trust that society is there, even if society has not succeeded previously.

Madam Speaker! In December 2024, approximately in the middle of the parliamentary term, I stood here in the chamber and had a debate on the issue. At that time, it was stated in a series of alarm reports that municipalities did not have the money, resources, or conditions to place the women and children they saw were in need of sheltered housing.

Alarms were raised in several places, and it could be stated that the country's municipalities had, for many years, received different forms of support funds as part of the national strategy against men's violence against women. For example, during 2022, Socialstyrelsen distributed over 85 million kronor to the municipalities to develop the work with the strategy against violence in close relationships, but in 2023, the agency was not granted any assignments or development funds by the government.

This has effects. It has consequences. I also noted then that while the new law on the permit requirement for operating protected housing entered into force, the funding for the municipalities was missing. At SKR, Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, there was simultaneously a domestic violence project that dealt precisely with supporting social secretaries and operations in the transition, but instead of supporting the transition to the new legislation, this project was shut down.

Now we are receiving continued alarm reports about how the legislation is failing, how housing is being shut down, and how women and children are not being placed. How does the government view this, and why is nothing more being done about it when the facts remain?

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Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)

Madam Speaker! Thanks to Sofia Amloh for a very important interpellation!

The Minister gave a long answer, but what was the actual answer that Member Amloh received to his question that women's shelters should not have to shut down their operations? Not much at all.

In recent years, 37 sheltered housing units have been forced to close due to increased expenses resulting from inflation and because costs have been added due to the new permit requirement. This has led to the protection for women subjected to violence being weakened in several places around the country. During the same period, 25 women have been killed by a current or former partner.

When voluntary women's shelters that carry a great responsibility are shut down, it is not only activities that disappear but also women's last line of defense.

Behind every closed door, there are women and children who have lost their opportunity to flee violence. This situation obviously requires action. Sheltered housing must maintain high quality, and they must have the right competence.

The licensing requirement is important. It raises the quality, and it shuts out unserious actors. But the implementation has not functioned well enough.

The organization Unizon testifies that women and children are not being accommodated in the housing.

We Social Democrats want to allocate 100 million kronor to women's shelters to strengthen their operations and ensure access to protected housing. The purpose is to quickly improve the situation for both the shelters and the women and children who need protection. Of those funds, 50 million go to an acute reinforcement of the operations to give them the opportunity to meet the tightened requirements, and 45 million go to the women's shelters' preventive, outreach, and collaborative activities, for example, educational initiatives in schools, support for older women through so-called "tantjourer" (grandmothers' shelters), and work against prostitution, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation. We allocate 5 million to review the legislation and simplify and shorten the permit process.

We see that the very foundation for the protection of women who are subjected to violence is being threatened. Support is needed here and now, and it must go directly to the women's shelters. Two years after the law was introduced, we can see that there are still shelters that have not been handed over. I would therefore like to ask the Minister if she thinks this is reasonable.

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Sanna Backeskog (S)

Madam Speaker! Thanks to the Minister for Equality, who is debating this question with us today! Thanks to Sofia Amloh for an incredibly important question! It is actually life-saving.

When I sat on the train on my way here today, I read an article in Sydsvenskan, published this morning, which I felt I had to bring up now. It says: ”Kvinnojouren kan tvingas stänga efter miss av Socialstyrelsen. En räknemiss gör att två kvinnojourer i Malmö blir av med flera miljoner i stöd. Trots att de gjort allt rätt måste de vänta till nästa söktillfälle – om två år. ’Vi kan tvingas stänga, säger … Kvinnofrid Malmö.’”

So, this is about the human factor having been present. Suddenly, Malmö Barn- och Kvinnojour had been deprived of a total of 2.6 million and Kvinnofrid Malmö 600,000 kronor. These are operations that already today report that they have more women seeking support and protection than they have the capacity to help. Now, the helplines are suddenly threatened with closure.

The National Board of Health and Welfare admits its mistake but also says that the money they have to distribute – the money that the Minister for Equality mentioned earlier – is exhausted. One must therefore wait two years. I understand that this news came today, but I would nevertheless like to take the opportunity to ask the Minister for Equality if she is prepared to consider prioritizing differently so that support can be quickly implemented for those who have been extra affected by the human factor.

Kvinnojourerna were needed. Sweden's kvinnojourer have over 50 years of experience in supporting and saving the lives of women and their children who are victims of violence. Furthermore, I would like to say that civil society in general is a fundamental pillar in a vibrant democracy. The country's kvinnojourer are important for the support of the individual victims of violence, but they are also important from an opinion-driving and public education perspective.

I can take the women's helpline in my municipality, Gävle, Blåklockan, as an example. Just some of their activities last year were support calls to those exposed to violence, providing support in contacts with authorities and help with practical matters, a sisterhood group, carrying out demonstrations and writing debate articles. They acted as a whistle-blower to both the municipality and legislators and organized knowledge-raising conferences for employees in the municipality. Tantjouren Rigmor runs an important operation and also participates in senior fairs and meets the social welfare committee and talks about violence in the elderly's relationships. Tjejjouren has its support chat and camps for young girls. Machofabriken works in the schools.

In the country's women's shelters, there are many competent employees and voluntarily engaged individuals. These are people who understand the dynamics of violence and realize that it is not about conflicts or cooperation problems, but about power, gender, and violence.

Our women's shelters are needed. Many are having a tough time. Blåklockan's protected housing is now lying dormant, just like all other women's shelter-run protected housings in my county Gävleborg.

We see that in recent years, fewer and fewer women and children have received protection in the protected shelters, even though the need has not decreased. The extra bureaucratic burden with Ivo's permit requirement has dealt the death blow to many voluntarily run protected shelters. I want the Minister for Equality to listen to Unizon and Roks and see all the women across the country who are fighting locally to save the lives of women and children, but also to increase the knowledge and strength of all of us.

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Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Madam Speaker! Thank you to MP Sofia Amloh for the opportunity to debate these important issues! Thank you also to MPs Ida Ekeroth Clausson and Sanna Backeskog for questions and contributions in the debate!

I agree with the main point of all three members. These are completely central, incredibly important and prioritized issues to continue working hard on. I have done so since I took office just over a year ago, and I intend to continue doing so.

I am, however, once again somewhat puzzled by the members' somewhat differing comments regarding the permit requirement and whether it is something worth pursuing or – as member Backeskog most recently expressed it – constitutes the death blow for the women's shelters. I request clarification on where the Social Democrats actually stand.

We need to have order and clarity when it comes to protected housing. There need to be criteria and requirements, but I am following the implementation of this reform very closely. I am also listening very much to Unizon, Roks and other organizations and the concerns that they raise.

Several evaluations linked to this issue will be coming shortly. The Government has also commissioned specific targeted investigations at Statskontoret and given other assignments to see where it is possible to make adjustments so that the effects become the intended ones, which we all voted for in the Riksdag when the Government initiated and moved forward with this reform. It is important that they actually get in place.

It is also important to keep in mind that in the issue of procurement of sheltered housing and the requirements that are set, with Ivo as the supervisory authority and the regulatory framework in the form of the new social services legislation, the municipalities are a part.

I am pleased that this is a priority issue for the Social Democrats as well. I wish that they could put a little more pressure on their party colleagues in the municipalities, who also need to prioritize it. It is a municipal matter, and the prioritization and management of these issues need to be done by the political leadership in the municipalities. SKR knows this very well. I would have liked a little greater commitment from SKR's side.

The government provided state aid to the municipalities upon the introduction of this reform. The municipalities had naturally wanted more, but at the same time, we see that in total, the municipalities – with the extra support they have received from the government – have good conditions to actually carry out this prioritization in the municipalities' budgets, where this lies.

I do not rule out that we may also follow the implementation when it comes to the financing issue, but I call for increased commitment from the municipalities when it comes to the procurement of the idea-based shelters. There is a very well-designed support document from the National Agency for Public Procurement, which is also not being used by the municipalities to a sufficient extent. Here, all opportunities for improvement exist to promote the idea-based protected housing.

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Sofia Amloh (S)

Madam Speaker! I actually believe that the Minister has a decent grasp of where we stand regarding the licensing requirement and the legislation. But just to make it very clear for everyone: It is we who took the initiative for an investigation that has formed the basis for the legislation. We did that during our mandate period, in order to set things right. We saw that one began to implement a privatization of the women's shelter activities and the work for women's peace, which began to be permeated by it. That was the background to the investigation.

After the change of government, the government that took office chose to look at the investigation and extract and interpret parts of it and then design legislation that perhaps has not had the effects we saw a need for.

It may happen that even the best government passes legislation that perhaps does not have exactly the outcome that was intended, but in that case, one must redo it and do it correctly. It is in the nature of the matter that one needs to do so in such a case.

This government says that one should follow the issue. That has been done for several years, while the consequences keep rolling on. We from the Social Democrats have said: Oh, oh, oh, this does not look like it is landing very well. There will be enormous consequences of how the legislation was shaped and how it is now being implemented.

We have therefore pressured the government and spoken about the fact that the evaluation must be carried out promptly, much earlier than what was proposed by the government itself. As my colleagues have previously explained, we have even allocated funds in the budget for a review of the legislation. We have pointed out these deficiencies. We had a different purpose with the legislation than the implementation and the consequences of it that we see now.

Just to be very clear, we may have had somewhat different procedures and different handling. I don't quite know what the government's purpose is with the permit requirement and letting the consequences roll on. That is part of my question.

The Minister pointed out that the municipalities absolutely need to take up the work on women's peace, Madam Speaker, and one can absolutely be critical of SKR, as the Minister is. But here, one has personally been involved in letting it be that support measures for social secretaries are not funded so that they can receive such legislation, support measures, and so on.

There are municipalities that say the money has run out and that it ran out in October. In some years, the money has run out even earlier for what the municipalities need to receive funding for from the government. I hope we agree that they need this.

Here, I think the Minister needs to answer clearly. What responsibility is placed on the municipalities here if they do not receive funding and support for various projects? These development funds from SKR are something they have had for many years. Why have they been removed and why has the mandate to help municipalities in this work been removed?

Finally, I wonder how far this dismantling is going to go. Almost 40 kvinnojourer have been shut down. How many more will it be before the government chooses to act? To follow the issue is not to act. It is to watch.

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Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)

Madam Speaker! Men's violence against women is a life-threatening epidemic that constitutes the ultimate proof of an unequal society. The most dangerous place for women is their own home. The Government has spoken warmly about all the equality work this government is doing, which I, to some extent, question.

In today's Committee on Taxation, the Social Democrats presented a proposal for a committee initiative that the government should immediately address the issue of stopping the exploitation of people in prostitution. The government should also produce proposals on how such guidelines could look so that persons participating in exit programs do not have to pay tax on the payment they receive when they are subjected to sexualized violence and sex buying. The State Minister's party comrades and others from the Tidö parties, however, voted down the proposal.

The question of taxation on prostitution has once again become topical following the so-called Swedish Pelicot case. A woman in Västernorrland was forced to sell sex. The person who forced her was her husband, a former gang member. After the woman managed to break free from the man, her pimp, she has had to pay a tax debt to Skatteverket for the sale of sexual services. Is this how we want it?

Several EU countries have so-called exit programs to enable women to leave prostitution. Such exit programs have also been investigated in Sweden. One tool could be to offer the cancellation or reduction of tax debts.

A government that speaks warmly about ramping up preventive work and preventing violence against women should do more. An equal society should stand on women's side.

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Sanna Backeskog (S)

Madam Speaker! I believe we can agree on some things here.

Firstly: There is an ongoing marketization of the protected residences. The risk is that we will soon see the same consequences as in the HVB home disaster.

Secondly: The intentions behind the permit requirement for protected housing were, however, correct. The intentions were to ensure quality and equivalence across the country and to increase support and protection for children and women while simultaneously shutting out the unserious actors. But the implementation is poor.

I am thinking of the women's shelter in Jämtland that has been waiting for 20 months for its permit. Now Ivo gives a denying decision. One does not count the manager's total experience and education in the decision, and one strikes down the alcohol ban in the premises.

Why many women's shelters, including Talita, Kvinnojouren Maggan and the Salvation Army's women's shelter, choose to offer women and children an alcohol-free zone when they have been victims of violence in their own homes or exposed to prostitution and human trafficking, I do not think is difficult to figure out. Here we could agree on an increased trust for civil society and for their experience of running protected housing.

The legislation needs to be reviewed and adapted. The implementation needs to become better. That is something we should be able to agree on. But what we should also be able to agree on is that it is a bit strange now. You say that you are allocating 20 million to a campaign about violence. That is important. But you are allocating approximately 70 million to compensate the municipalities when they place defectors from gang crime in protected housing.

The women's shelters' protected housing is being shut down, and in 2024, the municipalities received compensation for an average of 80 percent of their costs for deserters. Fewer women and children exposed to violence receive protection despite the fact that the need has not decreased. We can probably agree that this is strange.

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Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Madam Speaker! Many thanks to members Amloh, Ekeroth Clausson and Backeskog for their questions and contributions to the debate!

This government has undertaken a number of different reforms, all of which aim to end men's violence against women. This is achieved, among other things, through the major sentencing overhaul with criminal law changes, stricter laws, and new legislation aimed at the perpetrators for the protection of the crime victims. It concerns harsher sentences for serious acts of violence and expanded legislation regarding restraining orders. A number of new legislative areas are also added, such as the criminalization of psychological violence, which includes, for example, economic violence.

Another area where we have also tightened and expanded the legislation is the purchase of sexual acts – we have changed the expression from "service" to "act" because it is not to be considered a service. Sweden was the first with a sex purchase law where the person who purchases a sexual act is criminalized, but not the person who is in such a vulnerable situation that prostitution and the sale of sexual acts becomes the only way out. Just a few weeks ago, I was invited by the French Minister for Equality to speak in connection with the tenth anniversary of their equivalent to the law – they had looked at us in Sweden and our introduction of this.

I and the government are currently working on an action plan against prostitution, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation. We have taken a number of measures and reforms to increase support in connection with these issues. I look forward to presenting the action plan shortly.

This area concerns many parts, but it is absolutely central that we can move forward. There is nothing as important as ensuring that men's violence against women ceases. The Prime Minister and we in the government have also established an overarching council for women's peace, with the zero vision as a guiding principle. We have presented a new ten-year national strategy with the aim that violence should not just be managed. Women shall be protected and receive the support they need, but the violence must not just be managed; it must cease. It must be our absolute ambition to, both in the criminal law area and along the entire social chain, ensure that we can address all parts of this. Therefore, we have also increased the resources for preventive work, for example the work with Preventell, in order to get sex offenders to cease the type of crimes they commit.

This is a broad piece of work, and it is absolutely central that it can continue. I am grateful for the members' commitment to the issue.

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Sofia Amloh (S)

Madam Speaker! This debate has been about the situation that Swedish women's peace work and the women's shelters find themselves in and have been in for some time. This is based on the conditions in the municipalities regarding the women's shelters' operations and whether they exist or not. We see that many are being closed down. We receive report after report alarming about the worsening situation – about parts of Sweden that actually no longer have any women's shelters left, as they have been closed down.

This continues. No changes have been made to ensure the problem ceases, neither when it comes to funding to municipalities in sufficient extent or, for that matter, when it comes to reviewing the legislation.

When it comes to placing gang criminals to lift them out of that environment, there is money, as we heard earlier in the debate. But when one needs to lift women and children out of violent relationships and place them to save their lives, the money is finished when it is finished. We naturally think that it is very important and that it is completely right; we shall always create conditions for a second chance for those who need to step out of criminality. But we must also do that for these women and children.

For me, this becomes very clear when I have a report on my desk where the heading states that the violence is becoming more severe but fewer are receiving protection. It is alarming that so few children and women are in protected housing, and it is not because it is not needed but because it is not working. This is the Minister for Equality's responsibility, and I have heard very little about what is being done that actually has an effect.

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Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Madam Speaker! It is extremely important that the women who need support and help, and also protection from men who hit or pose a threat to life, shall receive it. That is also why this reform, which was initiated under the Social Democrats with an investigation linked to the new Social Services Act, is so important. It is extremely important that we can analyze how it has turned out and that we can adjust where necessary to ensure that we can continue to promote the idea-based activities when it comes to the protected housing.

Here, the municipalities have a very great responsibility – I want to be very clear about that. My view is not that the municipalities prioritize receiving that support and the help from the Public Procurement Authority that this government was tasked to offer so that the procurement of the idea-based activities can be prioritized when it comes to the municipalities' sheltered housing.

Today, approximately 47 percent of the protected housing is operated in private hands, and 46 percent is operated as non-profit activities. The own municipal housing, where they are held within the administration, constitute approximately 7 percent of all housing in Sweden. The municipalities have a responsibility for how it looks, and they have a responsibility for the financing. The Government has provided funds. I do not rule out that we need to adjust the financing issues as well, but we have therefore provided funds to the municipalities. In the municipalities' budgets, there is room in the total to prioritize this.

We have also increased the grants to the idea-based activities up to 185 million kronor, a record-breaking grant, which is distributed by Socialstyrelsen. I cannot answer how the assessments turn out in individual cases, but in total, we have from the government's side increased the funding to the idea-based women's shelters, and we intend to continue with that. It is completely central even going forward.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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