French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said “never forget that a political, economic or religious crisis will be enough to cast doubt on women's rights”. This quote fits well with the crisis the world is facing now. The coronavirus pandemic has led to an uptick in domestic violence globally. According to UN Women, “the existing crisis of violence against women is likely to worsen in the context of Covid-19” because of limitations on women’s movement and access to essential services. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of UN Women stated in April 2020 that while we try to contain Covid-19, “we see a shadow pandemic growing, of violence against women”. Despite difficulties in obtaining a complete data set for the increase in domestic violence, reports from countries all over the world suggest an increase in domestic violence. France has reported an increase of 30 percent since its first lockdown in March 2020. Domestic violence helplines have reported an increase in calls by 30 percent and 33 percent in Cyprus and Singapore respectively. Despite a strong culture of gender equality and feminist government, Sweden, unfortunately seems to be no exception to these patterns.
FACTORS THAT INDICATE INCREASED VIOLENCE IN A SWEDISH CONTEXT
Several factors indicate that domestic violence has increased since the first outbreak of Covid-19 in Sweden. According to preliminary statistics, Brå (The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention) reported assaults on women over the age of 18 in Sweden increased by four percent in the first half of 2020, compared with the year before. Assaults on men of the same age decreased by one percent over the same period. Among the reported assault crimes against adult women in the first half of 2020, it was most common (79%) that the crime was committed by a person known to the victim. This can be contrasted with assault crimes against men during the same period, where the proportion of crimes committed by a known person was only 44 percent.
The National Board of Health and Welfare has seen an increase in notifications for domestic violence. A report from January 2021 shows an increase of five percent in reports for child abuse in 56 surveyed municipalities. Of these, two out of ten reports were related to domestic violence, violence against children or children who have witnessed violence in a close relationship.
Unizon, Sweden's national federation, which represents over 130 Swedish women's shelters, young women's empowerment centres and other support services, also experienced greater pressure within their operations since the coronavirus outbreak. The union states that applicants for support have increased between 20 and 40 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
These numbers may represent an underestimation since access to quality essential services and movement is restricted due to social distancing and other measures.
SWEDEN HAS NO NATIONAL PLAN TO REDUCE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING COVID-19
Unlike Ireland, Spain, and Lithuania, Sweden lacks a national action plan for combating domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic. There is no strategy for protecting vulnerable women during the pandemic. So far, social services, together with the local municipalities, have had responsibility for providing support to those who live with domestic violence. The Swedish government has only put forward a general "strategy" to prevent and combat men’s violence against women, which has four objectives:
Increased and effective preventive work to combat violence;
Improved detection of violence and stronger protection for and support to women and children subjected to violence;
More effective crime-fighting; and
Improved knowledge and methodological development.
THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN HAS CRITICISED SWEDEN’S APPROACH
Despite the measures in the area, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in March 2016 expressed concern about violence against women in Sweden, including the lack of implementation of national gender mainstreaming policies at local level. Recently, the Committee submitted the latest CEDAW-list of issues waiting to be answered by Sweden. Sweden’s persistently low rates of reporting, prosecutions, and convictions are considered critical and waiting to be held accountable. Sweden is also yet to provide updated information on the findings of the studies conducted by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention on gender-based violence against women or an action plan for the period covering 2017-2026. The Swedish CEDAW network has not yet responded to the requests.
HAS THE SWEDISH MODEL FAILED?
Regardless of whether Sweden boasts of being "one of the world's most equal countries," the fact remains that Sweden has failed to protect women suffering domestic violence during the pandemic. The question is whether it is due to a lack of a national contingency plan for crises like this one. The pandemic has put the Swedish model in the spotlight where a seemingly gender equal society sees increased violence against women during a crisis like anywhere else in the world. Does it only take a crisis for the Swedish model to crack in pieces?
Moa Leppämäki is a final year Bachelor's student in Human Rights studies at Lund University. She has a passion for human rights and social justice, particularly relating to women’s rights, sustainable development and reproductive rights. She wishes to pursue a career in Human Rights.