Girls aged 12 to 15 feel more insecure and feel worse than boys, according to data from the Swedish Central Bureau of Statistics (SCB). This applies both at home and at school.
The surveys on children’s living conditions are conducted every three years, with children aged 12 and over answering various questions about their everyday lives. They show that a large majority of both girls and boys aged 12 to 15 are doing fairly or very well. However, when looking at those who feel bad, the figures show greater differences between the genders. Here, 37 per cent of girls say that they often or most of the time feel “down”, while the proportion of boys is 13 per cent.
Furthermore, girls also have problems with sleep, feel tired and skip meals, compared to the proportion of boys. Half of the girls also experience headaches at least once a week, while one in four boys report having them. When it comes to stomach pain, 44 per cent of girls say they have it every week, compared to 16 per cent of boys.
– About twice as many girls as boys feel stressed at least once a week, 64 and 31 per cent respectively, says Helena Rudander, investigator at SCB, in a press release.
Girls more unsafe
In the classroom, 70 per cent of boys aged 12 to 15 feel “very safe”, while the figure for girls is 46 per cent. When it comes to safety on the way to and from school, 77% of boys feel safe, while 55% of girls feel the same.
– Significantly more boys than girls feel very safe in the classroom, during breaks or on the way to and from school. The same applies to safety in the neighbourhoods where the children live, Rudander explains.
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In December, Gustav Hemming, the regional councilor of the Center Party in Stockholm, resigned after it was discovered that he had masturbated in front of a 13-year-old boy on a train.
Now the Swedish Prosecution Authority confirms that Mr. Hemming has been officially charged with sexual abuse of a child and faces up to two years in prison if convicted.
– The investigation is proceeding with the usual investigative measures such as witness interviews.Due to the confidentiality of the investigation, I cannot provide any further information at this time, says prosecutor Rebecca Rehnström, who is leading the investigation. She also does not want to give any forecast for when the investigation is expected to be completed.
The prosecutor has found no reason to detain Hemming, and although imprisonment is in the penalty scale, analysts believe that it is likely that the former C-top will get away with a fine or suspended sentence.
The suspect’s position on the charges is unclear, and since being forced to resign he has kept a very low profile.
May receive millions
The Nordic Times has previously highlighted the case and how Hemming, after the abuse was discovered, was very quick to apply for preferential compensation from the fees board, which some high-ranking politicians who have been in office for a long time are entitled to.
If approved, more than SEK 15 million (€1.3 million) – or more than SEK 90,000 (€7800) a month of taxpayers’ money – will be paid to the Center Party politician.
This quickly sparked a public outcry, with many expressing the view that authorities who abuse children or commit other serious crimes should receive no compensation whatsoever – but instead face much harsher penalties than they do today.
The Swedish Armed Forces have been working on a new drone project over the past year, under great secrecy, together with weapons manufacturer Saab, where large swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles will be used in military operations.
–They can be as many as needed – thousands, if desired, says Saab CEO Micael Johansson
The main focus has been on developing new software that is said to enable the drones to form swarms and perform tasks almost automatically, without any operator having to control each individual aircraft in detail.
–It’s not about piloting drones, you give them a mission on an iPad or mobile phone, then the drone swarm goes out and does this, the Saab top executive told TT during a press conference, explaining that a soldier can learn the system in a few days.
A possible drone mission could be to monitor a road by flying over it and transmitting images or video from the site, while scouting for enemies that the drones can also identify. By using hundreds or thousands of drones, very large areas can be monitored in this way, and if a few drones are disrupted, this also has little impact.
Although this has not been part of the project so far, it is also possible that in the future the drones will be armed and used to attack enemy forces.
–You can update this software and do amazing things in the long run, says Micael Johansson.
Should not make their own decisions
According to Army Chief of Staff Jonny Lindfors, the drones should be considered “trucks” – and it is up to the decision-makers to decide what cargo they should carry.
– But the basic principle that still applies is that in an armed operation there should be a human being making the decisions, he says.
Swedish soldiers have already started training with the new system and it will also be used in the NATO exercise Arctic Strike in March. The Swedish Armed Forces are also in the process of acquiring tens of thousands of drones, but they won’t say how much the new system will cost.
Sweden’s Minister of Defense Pål Jonson (M) is careful to point out, however, that a project of this kind usually takes about five years to complete – and that it is “uniquely fast” that the software has been developed in just one year.
During this year’s edition of Folk och Försvar’s national conference in Sälen, the rhetoric was at times very harsh and aggressive – and Pål Jonson (M) went so far as to claim that it is no longer voluntary to support the government in Kiev.
– Supporting Ukraine is not a choice.It is a duty, declared Sweden’s Minister of Defense.
The Minister went on to say that “the future of the European security order is now being decided on the battlefields in and around Ukraine” and that a dark time awaits the whole continent if Russia is not defeated.
– It will determine whether future generations will grow up in a Europe where international law or the law of the strongest will prevail.Supporting Ukraine is therefore an investment in our own security and our own future, he continued.
Jonson also boasted that Sweden has increased its support to Kiev every year and that it now totals almost SEK 48 billion (€4.2 billion).
– Last year, Sweden provided the sixth largest military aid in the world to Ukraine, he proudly proclaimed.
“Weakening the rules-based world order”
In the coming years, the Defense Minister also wants the Swedish arms industry to increase production and deliver military equipment directly to Ukraine “for several tens of billions”.
According to Jonson, it is not only Russia that is attacking Sweden through “hybrid attacks” – he also claims that “China, Iran and North Korea are supporting the Russian warfare”.
– This shows that this is a war with profound global consequences that further weakens the rules-based world order, he said.
– We must assume that Russia will pose a very serious threat to us and our allies for the foreseeable future.
– Att
stödja Ukraina är inte ett val. Det är en plikt.
Jonson sees the US as “crucial” to Europe’s security – but says the superpower is busy with conflicts in other regions.
For this reason, Europe itself must rearm and strengthen NATO and, according to the defense minister, it is absolutely necessary that Sweden “does its part in this work” and increases investments in all military sectors.
– What was previously perceived as mostly theoretical problems about percentages and burden sharing can, in these times of gravity, pose an existential threat to Europe’s security, was another of the M-top’s admonitions.
The Nordic Times has previously highlighted Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s speech at the Folk och Försvar’s national conference and how he announced that “Sweden is not at war.But there is no peace either”.
Sweden’s prime minister proclaims that Sweden is certainly not at war at the moment – but that the Swedish people should not believe that there is any real peace either.
– Let’s plan for the worst, so we can continue to hope for the best, declares Ulf Kristersson, and calls for continued escalation and rearmament.
During this year’s edition of Folk och Försvar’s national conference, those in power gathered in Sälen to discuss issues related to Sweden’s defense and security policy. This year, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also took part, and in his speech he focused on trying to explain how the government actually views Sweden’s current defense policy status.
– Sweden is not at war.But neither is there peace, the Prime Minister emphasized.
– Real peace requires freedom and that there are no serious conflicts between countries.But we and our neighbors are exposed to hybrid attacks, which are not carried out with robots and soldiers, but with computers, money, disinformation and the risk of sabotage, Kristersson further argued.
“Take this seriously”
In March, it will be one year since Sweden joined the US-led NATO alliance, and the Prime Minister was very proud when he described how Swedish aircraft already contribute to NATO’s airspace surveillance, how 600 Swedish soldiers are on their way to Latvia – and how Sweden is ready to contribute to NATO’s naval forces as well.
– It is an asset for Sweden in NATO that support for our membership is so strong and broad.Politically, but also among the population.It is an expression that we live in serious times.But also a sign that Sweden has changed.
Kristersson believes that Sweden has previously been “a somewhat naive idealist on the sidelines”– but has now become much wiser and has become “a realist at the center of events“.
According to the Moderate leader, Sweden and other countries are not being subjected to conventional warfare – instead, he believes it is a “proxy war” where, for example, Iran is accused of hiring gang criminals to commit acts of violence in Sweden and where Russia is allegedly “undermining democratic elections” in European countries.
– So take this seriously.I and the government take it seriously, he admonished.
“It’s all about priorities”
There do not seem to be any plans to improve relations with Russia and promote de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy – instead, the focus is on deterrence and continued rearmament.
– The Russian threat is by all accounts a long-term one.So must our defense be… It’s all about priorities.We can afford to defend our freedom – but we cannot afford to lose our freedom, he said.
The Prime Minister also stressed that Sweden “is not only a place of freedom and self-realization – but also of responsibility and self-sacrifice” and paid tribute to the young Swedes who “do their duty” by joining the Swedish army.
– Now it is a new era once again. And it doesn’t have to be a pre-war era, but as is well known, those who want peace must be prepared for war.
Kristersson and outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Photo: U.S. Department of State/Public Domain
“Let’s plan for the worst”
He says that today, just as in the Cold War days, the struggle is between “democracy and dictatorship“, and although he claims that he and his party do not want a war, he says it is nevertheless of the utmost importance to consolidate, arm and increase militarization if one were to happen.
– We won and the dictatorship lost.There is no law of nature that makes it always so.But the free world has done it before and we can do it again.Let’s plan for the worst, so we can continue to hope for the best, he concluded.
The Nordic Times also highlighted Folk och Försvar’s national conference 2024, where the focus was on Sweden’s entry into NATO and alleged domestic and foreign threats to the country.
