Sweden is intent on banning all forms of begging, with the government thinking it will get rid of beggars outside the nation’s shops, and has been accused of wanting to “outlaw poverty”. The centre-right coalition, supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats, announced a nine-month investigation into the implementation of a nationwide ban on begging, saying that if deemed feasible, such a ban could become law.
The leader of the Swedish Democrats, Linda Lindberg, said that the measure would mainly concern people who, in her opinion, come from other EU countries “to beg outside our shops”.
“In the early 2010s, EU citizens began to come to Sweden to a greater extent than before, among other things, to beg. Begging can have negative consequences for both individuals and society company”, we read on the government website. “Today there is the possibility for Municipalities to ban begging in certain places through local ordinances under certain conditions”, however “there are limitations in the ability to announce local bans”, which is why the investigation will have the task of studying the consequences of a national ban.
The criticisms
As British newspaper The Guardian reports, Stockholms Stadsmission, a Christian social organization that cares for vulnerable people in the capital, condemned the move. “Banning begging, or requiring permission to beg, only shifts the problem in a futile attempt to outlaw poverty,” spokeswoman Fanny Siltberg attacked.
“Instead, we believe that the vulnerability of this group can be reduced through structural poverty reduction and work against discrimination, both in their countries of origin and within the EU”, he added, arguing that “society must take on their responsibilities, for example by offering pathways into the world of work and the real estate market, thus reducing the social vulnerability of these people”.
Other organizations are already promising a legal battle. “There is the question of the legitimacy of such a ban. As far as I know, a national ban on begging would most likely not be legal,” argued Aida Samani, deputy legal director of the human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders, explaining that banning begging would conflict with the right to private life and freedom of expression expressed by the European Convention on Human Rights and enshrined in the Swedish Constitution.
Divisions in the majority
The proposal has already caused disagreements within the coalition of moderates, liberals and Christian Democrats. “I will not contribute to the introduction of such a ban. Of course, measures are needed to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people. But you cannot stop people in need from asking for help,” Liberal MP Anna Starbrink wrote on Facebook.
Jakob Olofsgård, secretary of the Liberal Party, admitted that his party is divided on the issue. “Today we disagree on a national ban on panhandling,” he said. “All parties have and should have discussions on difficult issues and this is one of them,” he said. According to The Local, begging is no longer as hot an issue for Swedish citizens as it was a decade ago, as the number of beggars outside supermarkets and ATMs has reportedly dropped significantly after the Covid-19 pandemic, and perhaps even due to the almost disappearance of cash in the country.
