From 26 to 29 March 2018, a delegation of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) conducted an evaluation visit to Sweden. In order to evaluate the conditions of women asylum-seekers, the delegation visited a safety accommodation in Bromma and the arrival accommodation of Centria, which is a reception centre with temporary accommodation for newly arrived asylum-seekers. It also held meetings with representatives of the Swedish Migration Agency and representatives of the government with responsibility on preventing and combating violence against women.

GREVIO is an independent human rights monitoring body mandated to monitor the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention. It is based on the understanding that states must fully address gender-based violence in all its forms and take measures to prevent such violence, protect its victims and prosecute the perpetrators. GREVIO has only recently launched its evaluation of the Convention and assessed the situation in Sweden for the first time.

GREVIO plans to publish its evaluation report on Sweden, along with the government’s comments, by the end of 2018.