Violence at primary and middle schools in Sweden has increased in the last five years, according to figures that SVT has previously obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Agency. But new statistics from the city of Stockholm indicate that the numbers are the tip of an iceberg.
From January to November 2024, 1,300 incidents of threats and violence were reported to the Stockholm city’s internal reporting system for primary schools, according to statistics collected by Sweden’s Teachers. But only 20 of the reports were further reported to the Work Environment Agency, which corresponds to just under two percent, SVT’s review shows.
– It is incredibly problematic that we don’t get to see the real picture, says Simon Sandström, chief protection officer at Sweden’s Teachers in Stockholm.
Would like to see clearer guidelines from the Work Environment Agency
School leaders and principals are responsible for reporting threats and violence to the Swedish Work Environment Authority, which is the authority that can demand measures.
– We have gotten better at getting our employees to report in our internal systems. But the Work Environment Agency’s letters about serious incidents are difficult to assess. We need to look at whether we missed serious incidents that should have been reported, says Peter Bragner, primary school director in the city of Stockholm.
Sweden’s Teachers also want to see clearer guidelines from the Work Environment Agency, which admits that the notification system can be difficult to interpret.
– It is clear that it can be tricky. But it is the school principal’s job to keep up-to-date on which things need to be reported, says Kristian Hansson, expert in school issues at the Norwegian Working Environment Authority.
Teachers and principals do not dare to report the violence
After SVT’s review of school violence, several teachers testify that staff do not dare to report threats and violence for fear of getting worse working conditions or losing their jobs.
– A student does a karate kick to my back. It hurts terribly. When I have to report this, I don’t dare because no colleagues stand up for me. I am summoned to the principal and am told that I would have offended the student. When you have been involved in such a situation, you remain silent, says a teacher in Stockholm whom SVT met.
The teacher refrained from reporting to the municipality. Even the principals may be afraid to report, according to the union.
– They may be worried about how their schools will be perceived if there are many registrations, says Simon Sandström.