Teachers warn of violence in Stockholm primary schools

Published 24 February 2024
- By Editorial Staff
Children as young as eight throw stones and threaten to kill each other.

The Swedish Teachers’ Union (Sveriges Lärare) warns of increased threats and violence at primary schools in Stockholm. The union reports a large number of assaults.

Reports of threats and violence at primary schools in Stockholm County have increased over the past year. The number of reported serious incidents in municipal schools amounted to 159 in 2023, which is an increase of 36% compared to the previous year. The union believes that the increase may be due in part to cutbacks.

– But it’s also about other things, it’s about the mandate and the role of the teacher in the classroom, Britt-Marie Selin, president of the Swedish Teachers’ Union in Stockholm, told tax-funded P4 Stockholm.

Now the union is warning that violence is creeping up in primary schools.

– There are threats ranging from ‘I’ll kill you’ and ‘I’ll shoot you’ to direct acts of violence, says Simon Sandström, the union’s security officer.

Sandström also says there are many cases of abuse in primary schools, which he says can sometimes be “trivialized” because the students are so young.

– When stones are thrown, when scissors are thrown, it becomes very dangerous. It doesn’t matter if the students are eight, nine or ten years old, it’s just as dangerous, he says.

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