Health

Eye exam

If you need glasses, you can apply for special allowance from the Swedish Migration Agency and then book an appointment with an optician.

Violence and sexual abuse

Many asylum seekers have been subjected to violence or sexual abuse in their home country or while fleeing to Sweden. Such experiences can make you feel bad both physically and mentally, but help is available. For example, you can talk to the healthcare staff during your health exam, to staff at your youth guidance centre, or to the school nurse or counsellor at your school. They can help you get the right care.

All forms of violence and sexual assault are illegal in Sweden. It is always the person who has harmed you who is responsible, and you can never be punished for being subjected to violence or sexual abuse. This applies regardless of what relationship you have with each other. It also applies, for example, to rape within a marriage and when parents beat their own children. When an adult has sex with a child under the age of 15, it counts as rape. In Sweden, it is also illegal to force or trick someone into getting married, and children under the age of 18 are not allowed to marry.

Contact the police at telephone number 114 14 if you are being subjected to violence or sexual assault or if you are afraid of being married off. If you are in acute danger, call the police at 112.

Genital mutilation

Genital mutilation (or ‘female circumcision’, as some people call it) is when you cut or stitch up a girl’s vulva or damage it in some other way.

Genital mutilation is completely prohibited in Sweden and is seen as a serious crime. A person who has been subjected to genital mutilation can have both physical and mental problems. If someone has done this to you and you have problems because of it, you can get help from the healthcare service. Talk to your school nurse, the staff at your youth guidance centre, or your health centre.

Read more about genital mutilation

Read more about honour-related violence

Sexually transmitted diseases

You have the right to knowledge about how to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases and how to avoid infecting others. Examples of sexually transmitted diseases include chlamydia, hepatitis, gonorrhoea and HIV. If you know that you have such a disease, you must inform the healthcare staff during your health exam, so that you can receive care and avoid infecting someone else. If you are unsure whether you are infected, the healthcare staff can take samples.

Contraception and maternity care

In Sweden, maternity care and obstetric care is free for asylum seekers. You also have the right to free contraceptive advice, so that you can choose whether you want to become a parent. Both girls and boys have the right to information on how to protect themselves and others from pregnancy. Girls who have become pregnant and do not want to have the child have the right to terminate the pregnancy through an abortion.

Mental illness

It is common to feel worried about what will happen in the future while you are waiting for a decision on your asylum application. Some people may also feel bad because they have experienced frightening things or because they miss their family. Examples of symptoms of poor mental health include anxiety, difficulty sleeping or feeling sad and depressed.

You can get help and support from the healthcare service where you live. You can also talk to the counsellor or school nurse at your school.

Disability

A disability is when you have an injury or an illness that makes it difficult, for example, to move, hear, speak or understand things. If you have a disability, you have the right to receive practical support in your everyday life, at school or when you talk to the Swedish Migration Agency. Having a disability does not affect your application for asylum in Sweden. If you have (or if you think you have) a disability, you can tell the healthcare staff during your health exam.