Updated 15.51 | Published 14.39
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Several children are sent each year on educational trips and the phenomenon has been known for decades.
Now the government is proposing an extended travel ban that will include child-rearing trips.
But the cooperation party Sweden Democrats wants to see the deportation of families.
– I think it should be a basis for taking back the residence permit, says Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats.
Earlier this week, Aftonbladet told about three boys who were all stuck in Somalia, where they were tricked by their parents – without any possibility of getting home.
Now there are several political reactions after the review.
The government’s cooperation party, the Sweden Democrats, believe that educational trips should be classified as cases of lack of education. A proposal that the government is looking at together with SD.
In a statement, SD claims that “families that engage in this should be expelled from Sweden, and possibly also have their Swedish citizenship revoked in cases where this is relevant”.
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full screen Ludvig Aspling (SD) Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT
“Can live with a relative”
Among other things, the party wants to be able to see that it should be possible to deport parents who send their children on educational trips.
– There is a principle within asylum law that says that if you go back to your home country and use the home country’s protection, then that is grounds for withdrawing a protection status declaration. I think this should be grounds for withdrawing a declaration of protection status, says Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesperson for SD.
If you want to send the parents back, what happens to the children?
– Their residence permit is another matter. Then you can see if they might have a relative that they can live with here in Sweden. It depends on the circumstances of the individual case and what should happen to them.
Aftonbladet has asked the responsible ministers how they see the Sweden Democrats’ proposal to deport families who send their children to upbringing camps.
The question is referred to Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).
– We have an ongoing investigation into whether individuals should be able to be deported due to lifestyle deficiencies. I cannot anticipate that investigation, but we will have to come back to exactly what it will include, she says in a comment.
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full screen Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M). Photo: Lotte Fernvall
Want to broaden the law
Social Affairs Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M), reacts strongly after the review.
– It is, of course, completely reprehensible and completely appalling. There are no children who should be forced away by their parents, regardless of whether it involves educational trips, conversion attempts, genital mutilation or forced marriage, she says.
The government is now proposing to extend the travel ban. This is what the government proposed in a legislative council referral this week. They want the travel ban to cover more areas within the Act on the care of young people, LVU.
One of the things the government wants to put an end to is precisely educational trips where children are sent to schools abroad, to relatives or end up in educational institutions.
– This is precisely for children who are at risk of being taken abroad on educational trips, among other things. We can state that today’s travel ban has not been enough. There have been far too many children who have been taken abroad for various reasons.
According to Waltersson, the previous law targeted forced marriage and female genital mutilation, among other things. Now they want to broaden the law.
On Thursday, the government decided on a legal council referral in which the extended travel ban for children is proposed.
More concretely, the new bill on an extended travel ban must go hand in hand with the new Social Services Act. There, the government wants to strengthen the role of social workers and give them increased opportunities to act on early signals for preventive purposes.
– Then it is incredibly important that social services have the tools needed to be able to stop children being taken abroad by their parents against their will.
The question has been known for decades, yet children continue to be sent?
– Not a day goes by where I don’t wish that more had been done and much earlier in my mission. With the decision we made yesterday, we are now taking important steps on the way to strengthening children’s rights and ensuring that the children are sitting in their school desks when August comes. Every child that we can save is a victory and important. Everyone that we have not been able to save is of course a failure and a betrayal of these children, says Camila Waltersson Grönvall.
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full screenPaulina Brandberg (L). Photo: Jessica Gow/TT / TT News Agency
“Being badly affected”
The bill has been drawn up together with Minister for Gender Equality Paulina Brandberg (L).
She reacts to Aftonbladet’s review.
– I am very badly affected at the same time as this is something we have known about for some time. The important thing now is that we find measures to tackle the problem, says Paulina Brandberg.
Today, parents can take their children out of the country after the child has received an LVU decision but before the decision has entered into force. But now authorities will get new tools.
– In part, this means that the social services now have tools to be able to intervene when there are signals that a child will be taken out and subjected to an educational journey.
But Paulina Brandberg believes that knowledge is also needed in the matter.
– It is also important to have an increase in knowledge within both schools and social services. Adults who can pick up on these signals and see what’s going on. I think it is important that we also do not have an overconfidence in introducing new legislation, but we must also ensure that the relevant actors have the right knowledge.
“Nothing but gross violation”
There are also reactions from other parties.
The Green Party calls it “unacceptable”.
– It cannot be called “educational trips”, it is nothing more than a gross violation of these children’s rights, says Ulrika Westerlund, the Green Party’s child rights policy spokesperson and member of the social committee.
The party welcomes the travel proposal that the government has now come up with, but wants to see more increased efforts to bring home the children who are already abroad.
– Even children who lack a travel document and who are in places where it is difficult to get in touch with a Swedish embassy. Sweden must improve its efforts to bring them home, says Ulrika Westerlund.
The Center Party also welcomes the new proposal on the travel ban.
– When the purpose is honour-related, the government should consider tougher punishment for the parents. When other parents see an educational trip as the only way out to protect the children against gang crime, it shows that the dropout efforts are not up to the mark, says Martin Johansson, the party’s spokesperson for children’s rights issues.