Updated 21.11 | Published 21.04
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Parents in Skåne have kept their children home from school for several weeks.
The children’s classmate is suspected of raping 11-year-old Oscar – and continuing to remain in the class.
– My child will be at home as long as necessary, says one of the parents.
It was in February this year that the abuse in the school yard was interrupted by teachers and the school reported the incident to the police.
When Aftonbladet met the victim, 11-year-old Oscar, and his mother in September, she told them that Oscar is now being taught in a separate classroom – some distance from his classmates.
The principal and the municipality have chosen not to move the suspected perpetrator.
– My boy will not sit in the same classroom as his perpetrator. I refuse that. Unfortunately, it is Oscar who now has to sit in another room, says the mother.
The case has led to the Center Party demanding from the government a lightning-fast legislative change in the school act, so that principals can move students with consideration for the victims in similar situations.
The expert: Parents risk fines
Since then, parents of students in the class have kept their children home from school due to concerns for the students’ safety.
– The school has no answer to what measures they have taken to ensure that something like this does not happen again. They only refer to confidentiality, says one parent.
Another parent says she is disappointed and that she too wants answers from the school.
– My child has been at home for several weeks and now they have reported me to social welfare. But what is my alternative? To send my child off to a school where she is not safe?
However, the parents who keep their children at home can risk fines according to Mikael Hellstadius, who is a school legal expert.
– It is in accordance with compulsory education in the Education Act. There are different amounts: a lump sum of SEK 100,000 or, for example, SEK 20,000 per week. It can also become a matter for the district court if parents refuse to pay the fine, he says.
The FACT Expert: Hiding behind secrecy
– In this particular case, the investigation will have to look at the reason why the parents keep the children at home. That it is about concern. It will play a role in an investigation into fines, says Mikael Hellstadius.
According to several parents, whom Aftonbladet spoke to, the school refers to confidentiality in questions regarding interventions after the abuse at the school in February.
But Mikael Hellstadius states that confidentiality is only covered when the parties involved are identified.
– It is common for schools to hide and throw away the concept of privacy protection. But telling about the actions you have chosen to do is not hindered by secrecy, he says.
Read more The municipal manager: Follows practice
The principal of the school in question does not want to comment on the parents’ decision or the Oscar case.
“There are routines at our school, but we cannot comment on individual student matters,” he writes in an email to Aftonbladet.
The director of education in the municipality does not want to comment either.
“We have clear procedures for handling information and safety-creating measures. We also have routines for handling complaints and we work continuously to follow up our operations and the decisions that are made. Our routines are based on current legislation,” he writes in an email to Aftonbladet.
He also states that he does not want to answer questions about the Oscar case.
“Our application of the laws that regulate school activities follows the practice generally applied in the country”.
What does that application and practice look like?
“It is the National Board of Education’s advice and recommendations,” writes the head of education.
Oscar is actually called something else.
FACT This happens when a child under the age of 15 is suspected of a crime
When a child under the age of 15 is suspected of a crime, the child cannot be held responsible for the crime, because the child is not of legal age.
However, the police start an investigation which is then handed over to social authorities who then decide on measures.
After the classmate raped Oscar, the police investigation was handed over to the Social Services.
But they are tight-lipped about whether they have taken any decision on action.
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