In Sweden, reports of misconduct in the special youth homes have been recurring for a long time. The report “… and I couldn’t breathe” has been produced by Barnrättsbyrån and researcher Maria Andersson Vogel in collaboration with Childhood.
The report establishes, among other things, that methods used in connection with separation/isolation are to be equated with violence. Even if the intention is to protect the young person and their surroundings, the report shows that the methods used in 80 percent of the reviewed situations include pain-inducing holds that involve great risks of injury. At the same time, these methods affect certain groups more severely than others, especially the youngest children, girls, and children with disabilities. The possibilities for children to themselves complain about misconduct and obtain a legal review are almost non-existent.
In part two of the report, a number of experts in various disciplines connected to compulsory care of children contribute with comments on the report’s conclusions. In their comments, they agree that the use of coercive measures in the way it is carried out today is de facto a sanctioned use of violence that risks harming the children both physically and psychologically, and furthermore makes treatment work more difficult. They also agree that there are better alternatives to prevent and manage difficult situations and that these must be used.
– That young girls are subjected to systematic violence by staff in state care is a complete failure of society and a serious violation of rights. Now a heavy responsibility rests on the government to stop the violence, says Elin Wernquist, Secretary General of Barnrättsbyrån.
– Sweden has undertaken a role as a leading country to achieve the sustainability goal of eliminating all forms of violence against children. That commitment obliges. Forty years ago, Sweden chose that corporal punishment is not an acceptable way to raise a child. Today we can choose no longer to accept violence as a reasonable method to use against children who have been taken into society’s care, says Paula Guillet de Monthoux, Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation.
Read the full report in Swedish here.
