A wave of violence sweeps over Sweden.
While the police are focusing their power on the gangs, there is concern that the authority is deprioritizing work against violence in close relationships.
At the same time, a successful project is now threatened with closure.
Every year, an average of 20 women are killed by a person with whom they have a relationship. So far this year, that figure has already been reached despite only half the year having passed. The center party is now demanding a national leave program for women who live in violent relationships.
– We really need to do something that saves women’s lives and then a collective structured support to get away from violent relationships is the only thing that actually saves lives, says Helena Vilhelmsson (C), gender equality policy spokesperson.
In Stockholm, the local project Igor, which is a targeted effort against men’s violence against women, has been praised. During the two years that the project has been running, studies have shown that relationship violence has decreased in the region. But according to several sources for TV4 Nyheterna, the project is now to be closed.
– If this is shut down without being taken care of and implemented throughout the country, it will be a disaster, says Helena Vilhelmsson (C), gender equality policy spokesperson.
“Great risks and difficulties”
The police do not want to appear for an interview with writes in an email that the authority works preventively in several different ways with men’s violence against women. The Minister for Gender Equality agrees that more is required, including from the police, but she cannot promise that the Igor project will be permanent.
– There are great risks in that and difficulties for the police to be able to prioritize everything at the same time, and there it is of course important that the police take their responsibility to organize their work so that violence against women, violence against people in the home, does not just go unpunished because we have escalating gang crime, says Paulina Brandberg (L), Minister for Equality.
Relationship violence is overshadowed
But the Center Party does not think the measures to stop relationship violence are sufficient – and that it is overshadowed by gang crime.
– The more resources are spent on gang crime, the fewer resources there are to spend on men’s violence against women, and it is extremely frustrating. If we are to ensure that no more women are murdered, we must do something now. That’s enough now. Not one more woman, says Helena Vilhelmsson (C).