The Equality Authority must survey how many people live in child and forced marriage in Sweden.
– This is something that we have turned a blind eye to for far too long, says Gender Equality Minister Paulina Brandberg (L).
The government wants to know how many children in Sweden have been forced into marriage. The occurrence of forced marriage and polygamy must also be mapped.
In addition, they want answers to how common it is with arranged marriages, so-called married men (people who decide on a woman’s marriage) and temporary religious marriages in connection with the purchase of sex.
– There are indications that there are forced marriages, polygamy and child marriage. I see this as a very important task in order for us to open our eyes to the extent of this problem, says Paulina Brandberg.
Want to see the vulnerability
TT: Hasn’t this been mapped before?
– No, not in the way we do now. Now we want this to really come to light, says Brandberg.
She believes that for a long time there has been ignorance and anxiety around issues related to issues of honor.
– It ultimately affects this vulnerable group. We need to get rid of that anxiety, we need to see how vulnerable this group actually is.
The mapping must be reported in February 2025.
Invest in the budget
At the same time, in next year’s budget, the government is strengthening work against honor-related violence and oppression, violence in close relationships, prostitution and human trafficking. A further SEK 50 million per year is postponed between 2024 and 2026.
It has not yet been decided what the money will go to, but Paulina Brandberg says that it could be about care and school.
– In school, you can often see warning signals regarding children who are to be taken out of the country, and then it is extremely important that we can carry out knowledge initiatives so that staff have the opportunity to intervene.
FACTS Child and forced marriage
It is not known how many children in Sweden are forced into marriage.
In a survey from 2019 (by the National Competence Team at the Östergötland County Administrative Board), 7 percent of the schools answered that they were aware of children who were reported to be married. For social services, the figure was 14 percent. 192 of the country’s 290 municipalities responded.
The laws in Sweden have been tightened in recent years.
In 2014, two new offenses were introduced to strengthen protection against child and forced marriage: forced marriage and misleading to forced marriage travel.
In 2016, branding was also criminalized as forced marriage, that is, planning to force someone to marry.
Since 2019, child marriages entered into abroad are not recognised.
In 2020, a new crime of child marriage was introduced, which can result in imprisonment for up to four years, as well as an exit ban, which will protect children from being taken abroad to enter into marriage.
Since 2021, it is also prohibited to recognize foreign plural marriages.
Source: The Equality Authority, NCK
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