Fewer and fewer people are turning to the country's women's and girls' shelters for support - instead they are turning to AI, according to the National Organization for Women's and Girls' Shelters in Sweden (Roks), which is now raising the alarm about the development.
"In the past year, we have discovered that young women and girls who have contacted us say that they wrote to or talked to AI first," says Adine Samadi.
“AI can feel very safe”
The chair of Roks can understand why women choose that method.
"A perpetrator is skilled at placing shame and guilt on women who have been subjected to violence. They are terrified of not being believed, and AI can then feel very safe," says Samadi.
But AI can also be flawed when women seek support.
"Besides the fact that it risks confirming the perpetrator's view that women are part of the problem, we don't know what happens to the information, nor can it provide the human support that emergency services can."
Samadi says that women themselves must be able to choose whether they want to use AI, but that knowledge about what it means is needed.
Project on the future of support
The national organization will implement a project called "Future support for girls and young women" that is expected to last all year. In this way, they hope to reach out to those who need support. Several girls' shelters have already started campaigns.
"AI has created competition that is not favorable to these women, so it is important to know why they choose to turn to it," says Adine Samadi.
