The children and young people who sit in the country’s 21 Sis homes are among society’s most vulnerable. Every year, around 1,100 children and young people are placed in Sis by the social services, most of them forcibly according to LVU.
For the period January 2019 to May 2022, the organizations Childhood and the Children’s Rights Agency have found 209 reports from the State Board of Institutions, Sis, and the Inspectorate for Care and Care, Ivo, where some form of sexual violence or abuse occurs in the homes. This means that on average approximately five such events are reported from different Sis homes every month.
Reports of abuse have been made at all but one Sis home. According to the study, the abuse is mostly about male staff who subject girls in care to sexual violence, but there are also reports of sexual abuse against boys.
According to the study, when children and young people raise the alarm about sexual violence or violations, the stories often stop within Sis, despite the law requiring that such incidents be reported on to Ivo.
There may be dark speech
Childhood and the Children’s Rights Agency want to shed light on shortcomings within the state’s compulsory care and the study is primarily based on Lex Sarah reports, documentation of children’s complaints to Ivo and minutes from the youth councils to be held at the youth homes. The organizations state that there is probably a hidden number because children often do not tell about sexual abuse. No police reports made during the audited period have been reviewed.
SVT has previously in multiple reviews revealed violence and abuse at Si’s youth home – and as recently as 2021, another report from Childhood and the Children’s Rights Agency revealed that there was widespread use of violence against children.
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