At least 20 murdered women last year – meeting on the violence

Violence against women continues in Sweden – and in 2024 at least 20 women were murdered. On Monday, a number of heads of government met to discuss how preventive work can be strengthened.

– We want to get further and we do this in collaboration with other authorities, says national police chief Petra Lundh.

Petra Lundh and state prosecutor Katarina Johansson Welin called for the meeting with managers from a number of authorities to discuss what can be done to improve collaboration against men’s violence against women and violence in close relationships.

– We are really trying to step forward now and in this work we need to collaborate with other authorities and organizations that also have assignments that affect this, says Petra Lundh to TT after the meeting.

Participated in the meeting were among others the National Board of Health, the county administrative boards, the National Agency for Education, the Prison and Probation Service and Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR). The discussions revolved, among other things, about how authorities can better share information to detect and prevent violence.

Common interpretation

During the meeting, among other things, the police and Skr agreed to develop a joint interpretation of the privacy legislation to facilitate information exchange.

It was also discussed closer cooperation between authorities to find common risk factors for violence, in order to make the right decision on time. Prosecutor General Katarina Johansson Welin says it was “a great commitment” in everyone.

Was your idea also to send a signal to other authorities that this affects more than you?

– The idea was to focus on these parts and that this is an important issue for the whole society, where many can be helped to contribute, says Johansson Welin.

Both the Prosecutor’s Office and the police report positive results in their annual reports in the work against men’s violence against women and violence in close relationships. Among other things, a large increase in prosecution is noted in couple relationship. The police’s targeted work against potential perpetrators is also deemed to have been successful.

At least 20 murders

Nevertheless, the deadly violence remains at a high level: at least 20 murders of women last year have been confirmed so far, according to the police annual report.

– We need to work even more intensively with this. It goes in the right direction and this is part of intensifying that work, says Petra Lundh.

Katarina Johansson Welin says the work is important from an equality perspective, but that it also affects many children who are ill and can be affected for a long time to come.

– Many of the young perpetrators we have today have been exposed to violence or grown up in families where it occurs. So this is a huge question.