The women's hotline Vändpunkten usually does not have staff during the summer, apart from a substitute who handles the emergency telephone and administration.

This year, the women's shelter describes that it was not an option due to the increased pressure.

- On June 1 this year, we had a total of 63 new support applicants for 2021. In 2020, we had 59 for the entire year, says Emma Andersson, board member of Vändpunkten.

Unexpectedly large pressure

Under normal circumstances, the number of new support applicants increases every year, which they believe is due to more and more people becoming aware of their activities.

On the other hand, they describe the increase this year as unexpectedly large.

The increased pressure has meant that the women's shelter has had to employ one person full time during the summer, and has allowed the two full - time employees who normally work 75% to go up to 100%.

The staff increases have been financed through grants from the women's shelters' national organization Unizon.

More dare to seek help

According to Emma Andersson, more women's shelters in Sweden are seeing the same increase.

That it is increasing now, she believes, is a combination of more people being stuck with their perpetrator, but also that it has become more normal to seek help.

- It is great that people are looking, but we know that the number of blacks is large.

There have not been more men who use violence, but more turn to us and other agencies, says Emma Andersson.

For security reasons, no one from Vändpunkten wanted to participate in a filmed interview.

See Cecilia Simander at Uppsala at Uppsala women's shelter answer three questions about violence in a close relationship.

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Cecilia Simander from Uppsala Women's Shelter answers questions about violence in a close relationship.

Photo: Christoffer Urborn / SVT