According to statistics from the Swedish Crime Prevention Council, the number of reports of abuse of women in the home has increased in 2020. As regards the Police Region South, the reports have increased from 1,474 in 2019 to 2,161 in 2020.

Throughout Sweden, it has been possible to see that assault crimes against women have increased by three percent in 2020 compared with 2019.

More support calls to the women's shelter

Caroline Högfeldt Coucher is operations manager at the Women's Shelter Blenda in Växjö.

She says that their business has seen an increase in support contacts during the pandemic year.

- We already know that violence increases in times of crisis.

When the women started spending more time at home, the conversations with us also increased.

During the period from the first of April to the last of July 2020, 301 women contacted the women's shelter, which is more than twice as many compared with the same period in 2019.

- We also saw that 85 new individual support contacts had been added during that period, which is 32 more than what was added during the same period in 2019.

Lost breathing hole

Why violence against women has increased during the pandemic, Caroline Högfeldt Coucher believes, is due to the fact that people have started spending more time at home.

- Many women have previously had work as a kind of breathing space, both if you go to work yourself or if the man goes to work.

Now that many have started working from home, it has become an increased vulnerability for those who do not feel safe at home.

Caroline Högfeldt Coucher believes that the increased violence is due to the fact that people have started spending more time at home during the pandemic.

Photo: TT