A free high school in Stockholm has violated the prohibition against discrimination in the form of harassment according to the Discrimination Ombudsman (DO). This after misgendering a student on several occasions, even though the student had explained that he wanted to be addressed by a different gender and name than before.
The student is said to have felt very bad during the events, but according to the school, this happened by mistake.
In the DO’s investigation, it appears that the student had explained his wish to be addressed by a different gender and name than before, but that several teachers said the wrong thing on several occasions, often in a classroom full of students.
The student testifies that he was constantly misgendered and addressed by the wrong name during most of the spring semester 2022, which must have had a very large impact on his well-being and also led to high absences from school despite several remarks to the mentor and contact with the principal. The situation did not improve until the report to the DO, according to the testimony.
Happened by mistake
The school itself has carried out an investigation and states that the student felt discriminated against, but that this happened unintentionally and by mistake. The school claims that they always strive to respect students’ identities and use preferred names and pronouns.
The investigation states, among other things, that: “The school has stated the following about measures linked to an inclusive teaching environment. The academic year starts by having the students share their names and
desired pronoun” and “this is then done several times during the training,
among other things at the start of the term and roll call, when names and pronouns can
changes more than once during the students’ time at school’.
Has violated the ban
However, the DO has now determined that the high school has violated the prohibition against discrimination through harassment. The authority believes that it appears from the investigation that the school was aware of the student’s desire to be addressed with both a different name and a different pronoun than before and that the student’s “transgender identity must have been clear to the school”.
TV4 Nyheterna has contacted the school for a comment.