Despite criticism, the government is moving forward with plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility so that 13-year-olds who commit serious crimes can be imprisoned.
Li Melander at UNICEF Sweden says the proposal represents a shift in how we view children.
Children should have a special position in the justice system, precisely because they are children and because they have not reached a sufficient maturity to fully understand the consequences. This is truly a major departure in terms of children's rights.
Maria Frisk, secretary general at Bris, calls the proposal counterproductive.
The proposal is completely wrong. There is no scientific evidence that it will reduce crime.
Other options
Frisk believes that the government has not sufficiently investigated other alternatives – which is also the opinion of the Swedish Bar Association's Secretary General Mia Edwall Insulander.
"There are other ways than putting children in prison to actually ensure that children are not on the streets. At the same time, they receive the protection and help they need based on the fact that they are children," says Edwall Insulander, giving examples such as compulsory psychiatric care.
“Experiment with children”
The Swedish Bar Association has previously pointed out the risks of the proposal in two consultation responses and Edwall Insulander believes that the reform is neither proportionate nor effective.
The proposal will not reduce crime in our society, on the contrary, many researchers point out that it could have the opposite effect. That is, the children who are eventually put in prison will commit more crimes once they are released. It is experimenting with children in a way that is not acceptable.
Both children's rights organizations and the Swedish Bar Association want the age of criminal responsibility to remain at 15 years.
The UN Children's Committee is incredibly clear that a country should never lower its age of criminal responsibility. You should not take away children's rights that they already have, says Li Melander.
