Sweden has unveiled a new government program aimed at tackling what Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described as “one of the largest and most frightening social problems” in the country: men’s violence against women.
Kristersson said he will chair a new ministerial council on kvinnofrid — “women’s peace” — to strengthen coordination among government agencies.
The initiative will target violence linked to severe mental‑health issues, domestic abuse and so‑called honor‑related violence, in which women are attacked by family members. He said the cabinet has already moved to tighten parole rules and improve how repeat offenders are assessed.
Women’s safety returned to the forefront of public debate after two high‑profile killings in late December 2025 — one in Rönninge, south of Stockholm, and another in the northern town of Boden. Both cases prompted renewed scrutiny of how authorities evaluate risk and monitor violent offenders.
In Rönninge, a 25‑year‑old woman reported missing overnight on Dec. 26 was found dead the following day, and the case was reclassified as murder. In Boden, police responding to a call on Dec. 25 found a woman who had died after suffering extensive violence.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said “it should not be life‑threatening to be a woman in Sweden,” adding that “dangerous men should be locked up” so women can feel safe in public.
The concept of kvinnofrid has deep roots in Swedish legal history, often linked to 13th‑century “peace laws” intended to curb assaults and abductions of women, though the original texts have not survived.
