A legal change that came into effect in April 2024 requires women's shelters to obtain a permit from the Inspectorate for Care and Social Services, known as IVO. The government has stated the purpose of this legal change was to stop unprofessional actors and increase quality in the sector. However, an official source indicates the consequence has also been that non-profit shelters are affected, highlighting the broader implications of the regulatory shift.
Since the legal change, 20 shelters within the women's shelter organization Roks and another 17 within Unizon have been closed, according to official sources. Major media reports similarly indicate 37 women's shelters have had to close since the legal change two years ago, underscoring the scale of the closures across the sector.
Preliminary figures from IVO show that the proportion of non-profit protected shelters is lower among the operations that have so far received permits, according to major media. Of about 76 operations, 33 are non-profit and 43 are private, based on the same reports, suggesting a trend toward private operations in the permit distribution.
The new requirements risk making it more difficult for women exposed to violence to seek help, according to Roks, as reported by major media, raising alarms about potential barriers to critical support services.
Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall has asserted that the same requirements must apply to all protected shelters, regardless of whether they are run non-profit or privately, as reported by major media. The government has stated the purpose is to ensure that women exposed to violence receive support of the same quality, emphasizing a uniform standard across all shelters.
Operations that want to meet the new requirements can apply for state support, according to Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, offering a potential pathway for shelters to comply with the regulations.
There is an ongoing investigation from the Swedish Agency for Public Management, known as Statskontoret, according to major media. The investigation from Statskontoret will be partially reported on May 29, 2026, and finalized in December 2027, based on the same reports, indicating a long-term review process.
How many women's shelters have applied for permits from IVO and how many have been approved or rejected remains unknown, as official statistics are not fully available.
The specific criteria IVO used to reject shelters and how many other shelters faced similar rejections are not detailed in public reports.
The details of the state support that shelters can apply for, and how many have successfully received it, have not been widely disclosed.
What preliminary findings or recommendations are expected from the Statskontoret investigation before its final report in 2027 is another unknown, as the agency has not released early insights.