After the rape alarm – Uppsala municipality admits fault

Several sexual assaults on several elderly women – who have not heard a word or received any apology from the municipality.
After UNT’s series of revelations about rapes in the domestic service, criticism of Uppsala municipality is growing.
– It is the worst thing I have experienced during my ten years as a politician, says Tobias Smedberg (V), chairman of the elderly committee.

It started when 84-year-old “Vera” appeared in UNT in September and told about the abuse she had been subjected to by staff in home care. Although she alerted a manager, nothing happened – but the man had to keep working and six months later “Vera” was raped again.

That revelation was followed by several others. Among them “Siv”, whose testimony bore great similarities to “Veras” and where the handling remained the same – the case lying dormant, untreated.

On Tuesday, “Vera” appeared with a picture and her real name, Elsa, in the same newspaper.

– It feels important to show that this has happened to a person. It feels like the municipality has forgotten, she said in the interview.

“Rotten eggs that find their way into welfare”

The handling of the cases has aroused strong feelings and shown major shortcomings in the handling of employees and the protection of users. Now the municipality believes that they have taken on board the criticism and “tightened up” the operation.

– Uppsala and other municipalities have been too naive. The vast majority of employees behave absolutely perfectly, but there are a very few rotten eggs that find their way into welfare, says Tobias Smedberg (V), chairman of the senior citizens’ board.

In Tuesday’s interview with UNT, Elsa talked about her disappointment and that she had not heard a word from those responsible in the municipality. In addition, she herself has had to pay for psychological help and visits to and from hospital. She has not seen the smoke of the crisis support of SEK 36,150. Nor has she received an apology.

– I would feel that I still have my human dignity, Elsa explained.

Request an extract from the debit register

For TV4 Nyheterna, the municipality states that they do not doubt Elsa’s story, but that they have a slightly different view of the case. They do not want to go into details but say they have been in contact with her on Tuesday.

They are self-critical and certify that they work intensively to ensure that everyone receives quick support and that they can act quickly in personnel matters going forward.

– We must become much better in our recruitment processes. We now choose to demand an extract from the load register and add extra resources to get a closer leadership, says Tobias Smedberg.

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