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CRIME

‘Men need to change’ to end violence against women: Swedish Justice Minister

A new documentary about a Swedish artist who was assaulted by her partner, a well-known Swedish actor, has stirred debate about violence against women in the Nordic country.

Published: 26 March 2019 08:06 CET
'Men need to change' to end violence against women: Swedish Justice Minister
Sweden's Justice Minister Morgan Johansson spoke after a documentary about Josefin Nilsson, right, put the spotlight on domestic violence. Photo: Karl Melander/Fredrik Persson/TT

The number of women who have reported being assaulted by a partner has decreased since 2015, when the Swedish government vowed to implement a national strategy against domestic violence.

In 2017 just below 10,000 cases were reported to the police. But when national number crunchers Statistics Sweden in 2014 carried out a survey on behalf of the National Centre for Knowledge on Men's Violence Against Women, based at Uppsala University, a total of 14 percent of Swedish women (almost half a million) said they had been exposed to violence or the threat of violence in a relationship.

A documentary about Josefin Nilsson, a well-known Swedish singer who passed away in 2016 from an enlarged heart and accidental overdose of prescription drugs, this week put the issue back on the agenda.

READ ALSO: One year on, what did #MeToo achieve in Sweden?

In the film, based on an unpublished autobiography Nilsson had been working on before she died, her sister and friends tell of the violence the artist suffered at the hands of her then-partner back in the 90s.

Her ex-partner, who is not among those Swedish stars who have made a big name for themselves abroad, but is domestically one of the country's most well-known theatre and movie actors, was convicted in court in the late 90s for assault. Nilsson received psychological and physical injuries that never healed. The actor was never named by Swedish media, but has continued acting in major theatre productions since.

The Royal Dramatic Theatre – Sweden's national theatre stage – on Monday said it had decided to end one of its ongoing productions early after widespread criticism and protests outside its doors.

Sweden's Culture Minister Amanda Lind said she would meet with theatre bosses, starting with the Royal Dramatic Theatre on Tuesday, to discuss their work to combat sexual harassment.

Sweden's Justice Minister Morgan Johansson welcomed that the documentary highlights violence against women, and said that more things needed to be done to crack down on the overall issue.

“It's structural oppression. Us men need to change our attitudes to stop this,” he told newswire TT.

He said a series of law changes in the past years strongly condemn violence against women.

“But I would wish that more men came out and distanced themselves from humiliation and abuse of women even in daily life,” Johansson added.

READ ALSO: What does the #MeToo campaign reveal about Swedish feminism?

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CRIME

EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

Several masked men, described by anti-racism magazine Expo as "a group of Nazis" carried out the attack at an event organised by the Left Party and Green Party. Here's what we know so far.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:35 CEST
Updated: 25 April 2024 12:16 CEST
EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

What happened?

Several masked men burst into a Stockholm theatre on Wednesday night and set off smoke bombs during an anti-fascism event, according to police and participants.

Around 50 people were taking part in the event at the Moment theatre in Gubbängen, a southern suburb of the Swedish capital, organised by the Left Party and the Green Party.

“Three people were taken by ambulance to hospital,” the police said on its website, shortly after the attack.

According to Swedish media, one person was physically assaulted and two had paint sprayed in their faces.

“The Nazis attacked visitors using physical violence, with pepper spray, and vandalised the venue before throwing in some kind of smoke grenade which filled the foyer with smoke,” Expo wrote on its website. 

The magazine’s head of education Klara Ljungberg was at the event in order to hold a lecture at the invitation of the two political parties.

What was the meeting about?

According to the Left Party’s press officer, the event was “a meeting about growing fascism”. 

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar described the event to public broadcaster SVT as an “open event, for equality among individuals”.

As well as Ljungberg from Expo, panelists at the event included anti-fascist activist Mathias Wåg, who also writes for Swedish centre-left tabloid Aftonbladet.

“They were determined and went straight for me,” Wåg told Expo just after the attack. “I received a few blows but nothing that caused serious damage.”

“I was invited to be on a panel in order to discuss anti-fascism with representatives from the Left Party and the Green Party,” he told the magazine. “I didn’t know this was going to happen, but there’s obviously a risk when Expo and I are in the same place.”

What has the reaction been like?

All of Sweden’s parties across the political spectrum have denounced the attack, with Dadgostar describing it as a “threat to our democracy” when TT newswire interviewed her at the theatre a few hours after the attack occurred.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the conservative Moderates, called the attack “abhorrent”.

The Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals are currently in government with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, while the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Green Party are in opposition.

“It is appalling news that a meeting hosted by the Left Party has been stormed,” Kristersson told TT. “I have reached out to Nooshi Dadgostar and expressed my deepest support. This type of abhorrent action has no place in our free and open society.”

“Right-wing extremists want to scare us into silence,” Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson wrote on X. “They will never be allowed to succeed.”

“The attack by right-wing extremists at a political meeting is a direct attack on our democracy and freedom of speech,” Green Party co-leader Daniel Helldén wrote on X. “My thoughts are with those who were affected this evening.”

Sweden Democrat party leader Jimmie Åkesson wrote in an email to TT that “political violence is terrible, in all its forms, and does not belong in Sweden.”

“All democratic forces must stand in complete solidarity against all kinds of politically motivated violence,” he continued.

His party has previously admitted to being founded by people from “fascist movement” New Swedish Movement, skinheads, and people with “various types of neo-Nazi contact”.

“It is an attack not only on the Left Party, Green Party and the Expo Foundation, but also on our entire democratic society,” Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok, who referred to the attackers as “Nazis”, wrote on social media. “Those affected have all my support.”

Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch and Liberal leader Johan Pehrson both referred to the attackers as “anti-democratic forces”.

“It is never acceptable for a political meeting to be stormed by anti-democratic forces,” Busch wrote. “There is no place for this in our society.”

“Anti-democratic forces like this represent a serious threat to our democracy and must be met with society’s hardest iron fist,” Pehrson said.

What about the attackers? Has anyone been arrested?

Not yet. The police had not made any arrests at the time of writing on Thursday morning.

According to TT, police did not want to comment on who could be behind the attack.

It is currently being investigated as a violation of the Flammable and Explosive Goods Act, assault, causing danger to others and disturbing public order.

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