Exposure among unaccompanied children and young people has increased rapidly and more and more are now falling outside the community's safety net, according to a report from the Red Cross.

-This is a group we are meeting to an increasing extent. Two or three years ago, very few people were in this situation, because at that time they had not been age-registered or turned 18 and had run out of municipal responsibility. Now we can see how this is increasing, says Martin Ernlöv, Secretary General of the Red Cross.

Above all, unaccompanied people find it difficult to find somewhere to live because no body considers themselves responsible for arranging accommodation for the group. As recently as Tuesday, the Migration Board announced that another 400 people, most of them unaccompanied, will soon be forced to leave the authority's accommodation.

Stuck in relationships

-We have at least 1,200 young adults living in acute homelessness. It is an awfully large group. Neither municipalities nor regional or state authorities have any stated responsibility to help with housing, and this group of people becomes very vulnerable, says Martin Ärnlöv.

In a 103-person survey that sought support from a voluntary organization, nearly one in five responded that they slept outdoors the night before responding to the survey.

The problem leads to mental ill-health but also increases the risk of exploitation. In the survey, 38.5 percent of the unaccompanied people stated that they had done things against their will because they needed money or housing. More than a fifth of these say they have had to perform sexual acts. The report states an anonymous volunteer:

“Young people are stuck in relationships with old women and men that they have to stay with at night. Around 20 people have said here that they have been sexually exploited and are stuck in relationships. "

There are also details of criminal gangs that deliberately recruit unauthorized people - "if they kill a paperless, nobody is missing one" - and slave labor in restaurants for a sleeping place on the floor.

-Every case where a young person felt that they had to do something that they didn't want to get some cash or somewhere to live is devastating, says Martin Ärnlöv.

Money to the municipalities

The Red Cross wants to see a national coordination responsibility for unaccompanied children and young people in Sweden.

"The municipalities also need a clear assignment that they have a responsibility to help solve the housing situation for this group - and also get financial resources to solve that bit," says Martin Ärnlöv.

He also wants to emphasize that a large group of those who came to Sweden as unaccompanied children also did well.

-They train for chefs, assistant nurses, they take a driver's license, they get their first extra nibble. They have come in and become active participants in Swedish society, he says.