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BULLYING

Student’s nipples burned with electric fly swatter

Prestigious Swedish boarding school Lundsberg, alma mater of Prince Carl Philip and many others among the upper echelons of Swedish society, has been rocked by a scandal stemming from a report of excessive bullying among the students.

Student's nipples burned with electric fly swatter
Prestigious Swedish boarding school Lundsberg in Värmland county

”When I got upstairs, older students jumped me. They threw me down on the ground and started delivering punches,” the former student wrote in his report, according to daily Expressen.

The boy who filed the complaint finished secondary school at Lundsberg, located in Värmland county in western Sweden, a few years ago.

But during the summer he decided to file a report about what goes on at the boarding school to the Swedish School Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen).

”The staff and the principal knew then, and still know, that these things occurs – but they do nothing to stop it,” the former pupil wrote.

His report describes being beaten after failing to bow when leaving a room; of younger students’ rooms being checked with a cotton swab for cleanliness; and of being forced to do push-ups while older students kept watch, holding baseball bats.

On one occasion, some of the older students acquired electric fly swatters following an excursion to Ikea which they subsequently used to burn the boy’s nipples with as punishment for some other alleged infraction.

”We have recently found out about this and I can’t comment on it at present, as an internal investigation is being carried out,” pricipal Staffan Hörnberg told Expressen regarding the fly swatter incident.

However, others close to the school confirmed to the paper that staff have been aware of untoward things happening within the different dormitories at the school and that staff and students have been told not to talk to anyone outside the school about it.

The mother of a former student told the paper that the students feel they shouldn’t betray the school, even to their parents.

”These boys will reveal nothing. That’s the culture at that place,” she said.

Founded in 1896, Lundsberg was inspired by British boarding school tradition and currently has an enrollment of around 200 students, around 60 percent of which are boys.

Hörnberg admitted to the inspectorate that a dormitory supervisor had failed in his responsibilities, allowing some of these violations to take place.

But he denied to Expressen having had any knowledge of the incidents before the report.

”We are treating this very seriously. We have made extremely thorough investigations and have taken forceful steps to combat the problem. I will not accept that these violations occur,” he said to Expressen.

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EDUCATION

Madrid to suspend pupils who don’t report bullying at school

School kids in Spain’s capital who fail to report another pupil being bullied will be expelled for up to six days or face other punishments.

Madrid to suspend pupils who don't report bullying at school
Photo: Deposit Photos

Educational authorities in Madrid want to stamp out bullying from the region’s classrooms, their newest measure aimed at preventing the climate of silence which allows bullies to continue getting away with their behaviour. 

From the next school year onwards, any pupil or teacher who fails to report an incident of bullying will be held accountable as silent witnesses.

For pupils, the punishment for not informing a teacher or any other member of staff about physical or verbal abuse against a classmate or teacher will range from a playground ban to a six-day suspension.

Each educational centre will be responsible for determining the severity of actions, or lack thereof, for those who failed to speak up.

The newly approved school coexistence decree will apply to all schools and high schools in the Madrid region, regardless of whether they’re public or private institutions.

This poster by Madrid authorities reads: “Snitch!”, “Snitch? If you mean I don't keep quiet about abuse, then I'm a snitch. The slogan reads “When it comes to abuse at school, speak up”.

Although the decree is aimed at de-stigmatising the concept of being a school snitch, several associations have expressed doubts about the end result of the measure.

“This isn’t the solution,” Lucía Martínez Martín, head of the Madrid office of Save The Children, told La Vanguardia.

“Once they put the measure into practice, they’ll realise it’s not an efficient measure.

“Children first have to know what abuse is because many of them can’t recognise it when it’s there.

“Some think insulting someone isn’t abuse but hitting someone is.

“We have to work with them to fight these abuses, promote respect and teach them their rights.”

The measure also sets the bar for how bullies themselves should be punished, considering online bullying, any form of discrimination relating to sexual orientation, race or religion, insults and threats made to teachers and numerous other forms of abuse to be serious incidents.

Bullies, depending on the severity of their actions, will have to either take part in reintegration workshops, be banned from certain schooling activities and subjects, be moved to another class or face temporary or permanent suspension.

An October 2018 report by Madrid's public prosecutor's office found that there has been sharp increase in the number of reported bullying cases involving “very young children”. 

 

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