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[His Majesty]

This topic was already touched upon in various Europe topics but given the scope and nature of the scandal I think it deserves its own thread.

There were 38 reports of rape and sexual assault filed after the We Are Sthlm festival, which uses the postal abbreviation for Stockholm, in 2014 and 2015, according to police.

Officers released the figures after the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reported it had seen a memo from last summer, warning police ahead of the event that there was a known "problem with young men who rub themselves against young girls" at the festival.

Police would not say how many men had been linked to the alleged assaults, but DN reported that as many as 50 Afghan refugees who had come to Sweden without their parents were suspected to be involved. Officers had, however, avoided informing the public that they had made this connection, DN said. Police earlier said last summer that there had been "relatively few crimes and people taken into custody considering the number of participants" in the festival, however on Monday they admitted that the full picture had not been given. "We should certainly have written and told people about this, no doubt. Why it did not happen I do not know," Varg Gyllander, a press spokesperson, told DN.

Teenagers who said they had been touched inappropriately at the festival detailed their experiences to the paper, with one describing the events as "terrible". "As soon as you came out in the crowd they began to grope," said the 15-year-old girl. Documents sent by police to the AFP news agency later in the day showed allegations of 17 sexual assaults and one rape during the 2014 music festival, and 19 sexual assaults and one rape in 2015.

Police Chief Peter Ågren had this to say on why the information was not released to the public.

Det här är en öm punkt, vi vågar ibland inte säga som det är för att vi tror att det spelar Sverigedemokraterna i händerna. Vi får ta på oss det här inom polisen.

It's a sensitive topic, sometimes we don't dare to say things as they are because we're afraid that it plays into the hands of the Swedish Democrats. We have to take responsibility within the police-force.

Feels very surreal to me that you could feel comfortable saying such a thing, police should have absolutely no role to play in party politics.

Also interested to hear what local Swedes think about this.

http://www.thelocal.se/20160111/police-reinvestigate-sex-crimes-at-teen-festival

International sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35285086
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/world/europe/swedish-police-coverup-sexual-assault.html

Outlet that broke the story. Accused both police and leading newspaper Dagens Nyheter of covering up the sexual abuse.

http://nyheteridag.se/exposing-majo...cologne-like-sex-crimes-in-central-stockholm/

A reaction from Dagens Nyheter followed blaming the police.

http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/pojke-atalas-for-sexuellt-ofredande-under-festivalen-i-stockholm/

 

[ponpo]

How does reporting mass sexual assault 'play into the hands of the Swedish Democrats'?

 

[PBY]

How does reporting mass sexual assault 'play into the hands of the Swedish Democrats'?

Fear of stoking anti-refugee sentiment, I would assume.

 

[ponpo]

Fear of stoking anti-refugee sentiment, I would assume.

So they just don't report crimes committed by refugees? Sounds worse.

 

[PBY]

So they just don't report crimes committed by refugees? Sounds worse.

Yeah, as a strong supporter of allowing refugees in the US for example, I totally agree- that is worse.

 

[cybamerc]

If the quote by the police chief is correct he should be fired.

 

[Guevara]

At this point whatever you hear about the refugee situation in Europe, you have to assume the reality is worse.

 

[norinrad]

If the quote by the police chief is correct he should be fired.

I'm surprise they sat on this for so long. His assistants and the mayor if that city has one should also all be fired.

 

[spekkeh]

I dunno, the sexual assault figures are pretty similar for the two years, and even though I'm not an expert, 19 accounts of groping with a visitor count of 170,000 seems... kind of expected? Doesn't seem like a nefarious cover up on first glance. But the fact that some 50 refugees were the prime suspects is in itself newsworthy I think, if at least something to share with the different police departments and city councils.

 

[BeforeU]

What the fuck man. Out Of all this shit I Am mostly mad at the bunch Of shit heads who do such a thing. You should be fucking grateful of the country who let you in.

 

[Mrmartel]

Media cover ups, police involvement with said cover ups, Mayors telling women to act more conservative. The liberal elite (politicians, media), neo con business elite and corporations really want to burn Europe down, don't they.

They have developed the perfect symbiosis with each other really. A good cop. bad cop shtick. The ideology is mostly the same, one of Destructive (it doesn't have to be) Globalism. But they still want the public to perceive that they actually differ in policies. The left, for unlimited, uncontrolled immigration and promoting their progressive social credentials, while doing everything they can to protect (and some ways to promote, like the major in cologne) the most socially backwards identity politics they can. The right (Like UMP in France, and CDU in Germany) talking up their anti-migrant policies while getting a hard on for all the low wage migrant workers to increase profits, decrease benefits and maintain the stasis quoi (which is the ultimate destruction of the middle class). A combination of hatred for the ethnic european working classes and greed. Well screw' em all I say. The gig is up and more Europeans (and westerners in general) are waking up.

 

[Rentahamster]

What the fuck man. Out Of all this shit I Am mostly mad at the bunch Of shit heads who do such a thing. You should be fucking grateful of the country who let you in.

Biting the hand that feeds you is a behavior not uncommon to the human race.

 

[Gemüsepizza]

So they are investigating this. I don't see the big problem? They haven't yet determined who exactly is responsible for this. Why release rumors about possible suspects, especially if there is not enough evidence? Just because they aren't releasing this information when the investigation is still on-going, doesn't mean that they would not make the final result of their investigation available for the public, if they have caught the perpetrators. Also, police is usually careful in cases where sexual violence is involved, to protect the victims. And it is just a sad reality that rumors like this, even when they are not proven, will cause right-wing radicals to threaten and harm innocent migrants, like it happened in the last few months.

 

[loaf of bread]

Why is rape and sexual abuse so high in Sweden particularly?

 

[Midas]

Why is rape and sexual abuse so high in Sweden particularly?

Is it? Men being assholes seems to be a thing where ever men can be found.

 

[Fluvian]

The Swedish rape epidemic has destroyed my view of a country I once dreamed of living in. Fear of appearing racist is clearly one of the main elements that is allowing this to continue. I always knew over political correctness and people who scream racism would cause something bad to happen, but I never imagined anything as horrible as this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaYwwyQWUrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0sK8f48x4

 

[braves01]

Why is rape and sexual abuse so high in Sweden particularly?

It seems like it's for the same reasons as Cologne in this instance. Multiculturalism run amok.

 

[PBY]

The Swedish rape epidemic has destroyed my view of a country I once dreamed of living in. Fear of appearing racist is clearly one of the main elements that is allowing this to continue. I always knew over political correctness and people who scream racism would cause something bad to happen, but I never imagined anything as horrible as this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaYwwyQWUrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0sK8f48x4

Dare I click these links?

 

[Super Wario]

Police Chief Peter Ågren is not politically neutral so he should be fired.

 

[Fluvian]

Is it? Men being assholes seems to be a thing where ever men can be found.

Yes it is, if you did any research you'd know the rape rates in Sweden are shocking, and the part no one wants to mention out of fear is that something crazy like 90% of reported rapes in Sweden seem to be committed by Muslim men. That's not racist, that's not bias, it's true, just a cold hard fact.

 

[loaf of bread]

Is it? Men being assholes seems to be a thing where ever men can be found.

Well the rape statistics are over double that of any other European country and the numbers are on par with central american and southern african countries.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

Is it? Men being assholes seems to be a thing where ever men can be found.

Nice shitpost.

Bring something relevant to the topic, in favour or against.

 

[Fluvian]

Dare I click these links?

If you can stomach hearing about the appalling things that are going on in Sweden (even if you can't you really should) then yes.

 

[PBY]

Yes it is, if you did any research you'd know the rape rates in Sweden are shocking, and the part no one wants to mention out of fear is that something crazy like 90% of reported rapes in Sweden seem to be committed by Muslim men. That's no racist, that's no bias, it's true, just a cold hard fact.

Receipts?

 

[Midas]

Dare I click these links?

No.

 

[Gemüsepizza]

Why is rape and sexual abuse so high in Sweden particularly?

It isn't that high afaik, I heard it is just reported more often compared to other countries. Also, they are counting every individual act of rape separately, for example when a wife was raped by her husband during their marriage over several years.

It seems like it's for the same reasons as Cologne in this instance. Multiculturalism run amok.

Smh.

 

[orochi91]

So they are investigating this. I don't see the big problem? They haven't yet determined who exactly is responsible for this. Why release rumors about possible suspects, especially if there is not enough evidence? Just because they aren't releasing this information when the investigation is still on-going, doesn't mean that they would not make the final result of their investigation available for the public, if they have caught the perpetrators. Also, police is usually careful in cases where sexual violence is involved, to protect the victims. And it is just a sad reality that rumors like this, even when they are not proven, will cause right-wing radicals to threaten and harm innocent migrants, like it happened in the last few months.

+1

 

[Yazan]

The Swedish rape epidemic has destroyed my view of a country I once dreamed of living in. Fear of appearing racist is clearly one of the main elements that is allowing this to continue. I always knew over political correctness and people who scream racism would cause something bad to happen, but I never imagined anything as horrible as this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaYwwyQWUrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0sK8f48x4

What the fuck are you talking about?

No, there is no rape epidemic in Sweden. Never has been.

The only reason Sweden is topping rape lists is because a higher degree of women report that, unlike a lot of countries. Plus a broader definition of rape.

 

[aGuyInaBearSuit]

Is it? Men being assholes seems to be a thing where ever men can be found.

Wow.

 

[Fluvian]

Receipts?

What do you mean proof? just search Swedish rape statistics, or better yet watch those videos I posted.

 

[PBY]

What do you mean proof? just search Swedish rape statistics, or better yet watch those videos I posted.

This is what wikipedia tells me:

Two reports from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRÅ) are relevant to the rate of rape among immigrants to Sweden and their descendants. The latest published report that indicates the association between immigrants and rape was published in 2005 and revealed that from 1997 to 2001 foreign born individuals were 5.5 times more likely to be charged of rape than individuals born in Sweden to two Swedish parents and that foreign born individuals from all regions, apart from East Asia, committed sexual assaults at rates up to 5.3 times greater than that of individuals born in Sweden to two Swedish parents.[36] The report doesn't break down the foreign born category by country of origin despite the fact that country of origin has been found to be highly predictive of crime rates in other Nordic countries.[37] However, a 1996 report by the BRÅ did break down rate of rape convictions by country of origin, using data from 1985 to 1989 it found particularly high rates of rape convictions among certain immigrant groups. Among the highest rates we individuals born in Iraq, North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), Africa (excluding Uganda and the North African countries) were convicted of rape at rates 20, 23, 17, and 18 times greater than individuals born in Sweden respectively.[18] Although, according to crime victim surveys from the BRÅ, the actual rate of sex crimes has been more or less unchanged in Sweden between 2005 and 2014, despite the fact that immigration has increased during the same time period.

 

[liquidtmd]

Is it? Men being assholes seems to be a thing where ever men can be found.

Care to blanket stereotype women and go for the full house?

 

[Fluvian]

What the fuck are you talking about?

No, there is no rape epidemic in Sweden. Never have been.

The only reason Sweden is topping rape lists is because a higher degree of women report that, unlike a lot of countries. Plus a more expended definition of rape.

I'll admit theres a few things like divorced parents taking their children when their not supposed to being counted as kidnappings. But the amount of proper rapes being committed are shockingly high, I can't remember the stats right off of my head but I implore you to look into it and see for yourself.

 

[His Majesty]

So they are investigating this. I don't see the big problem? They haven't yet determined who exactly is responsible for this. Why release rumors about possible suspects, especially if there is not enough evidence? Just because they aren't releasing this information when the investigation is still on-going, doesn't mean that they would not make the final result of their investigation available for the public, if they have caught the perpetrators. Also, police is usually careful in cases where sexual violence is involved, to protect the victims. And it is just a sad reality that rumors like this, even when they are not proven, will cause right-wing radicals to threaten and harm innocent migrants, like it happened in the last few months.

So you are fine with police being politically biased? Not releasing any information whatsoever for events that date back 18 months?

 

[PBY]

Care to blanket stereotype women and go for the full house?

I don't think he means to say all men; I mean his statement isn't wrong?

 

[God Dayumm]

It isn't that high afaik, I heard it is just reported more often compared to other countries. Also, they are counting every individual act of rape separately, for example when a wife was raped by her husband during their marriage over several years.

This thread is evidence that is not true

 

[orochi91]

Although, according to crime victim surveys from the BRÅ, the actual rate of sex crimes has been more or less unchanged in Sweden between 2005 and 2014, despite the fact that immigration has increased during the same time period.

Yea, I figured that would be the case.

Some folks are really eager to add rape to the list of reasons to outright reject refugees.

 

[Fluvian]

This is what wikipedia tells me:

Two reports from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRÅ) are relevant to the rate of rape among immigrants to Sweden and their descendants. The latest published report that indicates the association between immigrants and rape was published in 2005 and revealed that from 1997 to 2001 foreign born individuals were 5.5 times more likely to be charged of rape than individuals born in Sweden to two Swedish parents and that foreign born individuals from all regions, apart from East Asia, committed sexual assaults at rates up to 5.3 times greater than that of individuals born in Sweden to two Swedish parents.[36] The report doesn't break down the foreign born category by country of origin despite the fact that country of origin has been found to be highly predictive of crime rates in other Nordic countries.[37] However, a 1996 report by the BRÅ did break down rate of rape convictions by country of origin, using data from 1985 to 1989 it found particularly high rates of rape convictions among certain immigrant groups. Among the highest rates we individuals born in Iraq, North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), Africa (excluding Uganda and the North African countries) were convicted of rape at rates 20, 23, 17, and 18 times greater than individuals born in Sweden respectively.[18] Although, according to crime victim surveys from the BRÅ, the actual rate of sex crimes has been more or less unchanged in Sweden between 2005 and 2014, despite the fact that immigration has increased during the same time period.

Okay. Thoughts? (ps I know that fucking bear from somewhere...An album cover I think)

 

[Angry Grimace]

I once hung out with a Police Sargeant who works out in Palm Desert and he said the number of stabbings and sexual assaults and other heinous crimes at Coachella is pretty horrific. He said most big festivals are just kind of like that =/

 

[El Topo]

I don't see why they couldn't just release the information without any mention of ethnicity (if that was the reason it was ultimately swept under the rug). That said, I mostly agree with Gemüsepizza.

Edit:
A bit of a tangentially related question, but how is diversity (gender, ethnicity, social background, religion) among Swedish press?

 

[Midas]

Care to blanket stereotype women and go for the full house?

I don't understand. Was what I wrote targeted at all men? I must have expressed myself poorly.

 

[Shuggananas]

I once hung out with a Police Sargeant who works out in Palm Desert and he said the number of stabbings and sexual assaults and other heinous crimes at Coachella is pretty horrific. He said most big festivals are just kind of like that =/

Drugs is certainly a big factor

This police officer though. "oh those damn democrats lol", yeah fuck you and do your actual job will you

 

[Gemüsepizza]

So you are fine with police being politically biased? Not releasing any information whatsoever for events that date back 18 months?

I am fine with police protecting innocent people.

 

[PBY]

Okay. Thoughts? (ps I know that fucking bear from somewhere...An album cover I think)

I don't really know enough to reflexively comment, nor can I speak to how accurate those numbers are. Further, I don't have any context for these numbers, or if they are linked at all to migration. I could pull a bunch of crime statistics in the United States and make very racist points manipulating them too.

 

[Fluvian]

I once hung out with a Police Sargeant who works out in Palm Desert and he said the number of stabbings and sexual assaults and other heinous crimes at Coachella is pretty horrific. He said most big festivals are just kind of like that =/

Yeah I knew someone who was raped at Glastonbury. It's shocking to me that, that could happen in a place with such good energy. But with that much drugs and alcohol going around it's bound to be a problem.

 

[His Majesty]

To put into context, We Are Sthlm is not a regular festival with 'drugs and booze', it is aimed at the age of 13-19 yrs old.

We Are Sthlm is a youth festival with adults on-site. It is important that every parent or guardian sets their own rules for children attending the festival. We can’t take the place of a parent, but we do our best to create the conditions in which our guests can really enjoy their time at We Are Sthlm.

We Are Sthlm is an alcohol and drug-free festival. Drugs and alcohol are banned throughout the festival site. Carrying alcohol is strictly prohibited and any breach of the ban will result in confiscation and the reporting of the young person in question to police and social services. Narcotics are banned under Swedish law and anyone caught carrying them will be arrested.

 

[Pezking]

So they are investigating this. I don't see the big problem? They haven't yet determined who exactly is responsible for this. Why release rumors about possible suspects, especially if there is not enough evidence? Just because they aren't releasing this information when the investigation is still on-going, doesn't mean that they would not make the final result of their investigation available for the public, if they have caught the perpetrators. Also, police is usually careful in cases where sexual violence is involved, to protect the victims. And it is just a sad reality that rumors like this, even when they are not proven, will cause right-wing radicals to threaten and harm innocent migrants, like it happened in the last few months.

This.

Thank you.

It's the same in Germany: The police is not obliged to directly inform the public about everything they're investigating. Police reports in the local news are usually pretty boring. And there are numerous reasons for discretion regarding specific crimes.

But as long as they are still investigating those crimes and answer questions by journalists truthfully once they're asked about it, I don't have the slightest problem with that.

It seems to be the same in sweden: The police told the public about those incidents once they were confrilonted by the press.

Calling this a cover up is ridiculous.

 

[Kathian]

I don't see why they couldn't just release the information without any mention of ethnicity.

The press would ask and silence would be taken as answer. Europe's terror at even debating these events and discussing them is what's actually feeding the far right. It gives them cover to say 'See! There hiding something! We told you what was going on...no...you knew what was going on! See!'

Look at the BNP or EDL; dragged back into irrelevance by being put in the limelight. These groups perform best when the state gives them a cloak; these cover ups allow them to say other things and when the states facts say their wrong they claim it's just a cover up not yet uncovered.

 

[Fluvian]

I don't really know enough to reflexively comment, nor can I speak to how accurate those numbers are. Further, I don't have any context for these numbers, or if they are linked at all to migration. I could pull a bunch of crime statistics in the United States and make very racist points manipulating them too.

Yes it's a very hard topic to really form a concrete opinion about, all I know is lots of people who don't understand or like the European lifestyle are being let into the country, a lot of times without having to prove their actually from fucking Syria. I've seen very few reports of actual Syrians behaving badly, it's mostly been the north africans and others who have been pretending to be from Syria to get into Germany, Sweden etc.

 

[Shuggananas]

To put into context, We Are Sthlm is not a regular festival with 'drugs and booze', it is aimed at the age of 13-19 yrs old.

There's probably some drugs smuggled in there though, I guess it's harder for alcohol but just because it's banned doesn't mean it's not a thing