In Sweden, more than 6,000 children pass through various sheltered homes every year due to threats and violence in the home. Despite this, the efforts of the children in the housing are not regulated by the Social Services Act.  

In the recent report, "My turn to tell", twenty different children of violent mothers have testified about the escape from the violence and their existence in the sheltered housing in Sweden. BRIS and Sweden's City Missions, which are behind the report, point out that a lack of regulations means that the children are at risk of being treated as only accompanying the adult and thus losing important efforts.   

- What grabs me the most is that the children carry such heavy stories and yet do not receive support. They want to support their mother and siblings, while also feeling that the adult world is not listening, says Sofia Liljegren, project manager at Sweden's City Missions.  

For violent children, everyday life changes drastically once they reach the sheltered housing. Usually the children cannot go to school for long periods of time and it becomes difficult to maintain relationships with friends.

BRIS: The child's needs in the cloud

- Violence affects the child's entire life, it affects their health and not least their schooling. In the report it becomes very clear that much focus is placed on the mother and the children end up in the cloud. Both their needs and the children's rights, says Sara Grönkvist, Head of Unit at BRIS.  

Now the organizations are demanding that the Social Services Act be expanded and that all children who end up in sheltered housing because of domestic violence should have a personal matter drawn up at the social services. It believes BRIS would enable a requirement that the child's situation be followed up in a legally secure manner, increase the quality of the efforts and that the children, regardless of where in the country they are placed, can receive equal support.  

Today, the question of an expanded regulatory framework regarding children's stay in sheltered housing is being investigated, but the process must be accelerated, says City Commissioner Sofia Liljegren.  

- For every child this is incredibly urgent, they live in the present and they need to have their rights fulfilled now, Liljegren concludes.