A few weeks ago, Brå released for the first time a report on hate crimes against the Sami in which victims shared terrifying memories and experiences.
Sara Skum is a reindeer keeper and has personally experienced how her reindeer have been tortured and killed. She thinks it is good that a report has now been released about the problem.
– It means a lot to us who have tried to make this visible for several years. It is an important report, and I believe and hope that it will be part of a settlement in some way, she says in this week’s 15 minutes from Sápmi.
Kristina Sehlin Macneil, docent in Sami studies at Umeå University, has read the report.
– It is particularly worrying that inaccuracies and misleading information have been published in both the daily press and other types of media. It’s something that burns, I think it’s particularly bad and reinforces racism, discrimination and prejudice against the Sami.
Want to see increased penalty value
The report has been submitted to the government and Sehlin Macneil believes that the most important thing is how to proceed now.
– Commitment is required from the politicians, resources are required to strengthen the work against hate crimes and additional knowledge is required.
Sara Skum hopes that the report will have an effect in the future.
– I hope that it leads to an increased penalty value, which in turn can mean that the crimes can be solved. Reindeer owners today see that not enough resources are being allocated. Then I also hope that hate crime can become a classification that is more obvious when you report it to the police and that you are taken seriously.
See this week’s 15 minutes from Sápmi on Saturday at 16:05 in SVT2. Or anytime on SVT Play.