The Swedish government is launching a project to map the different types of racism in society and assess the level of intolerance of Swedes towards minorities. Referring to the government’s statement, AFP reported on this on Friday, writes TASR.
Statistics Sweden reported some time ago that in 2023, approximately 27 percent of the Swedish population, which is more than 2.8 million people, had a foreign origin. These are people who were either born abroad or both of their parents were born there.
The Minister for Gender Equality, Paulina Brandbergová, during the presentation of the government’s plan on Friday, said that she wants to focus mainly on the scope of this phenomenon in schools.
At the press conference, she clarified that students of African descent are often exposed to racism at school, which affects their studies and results. She also pointed to cases where young Roma do not dare to speak about their identity and when members of the local Sámi minority (older Lapps) are often victims of hate crimes.
Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed described these manifestations of racism and xenophobia as deeply disturbing, adding that they have a serious impact on children. “This is how their very identity, their very existence is insulted and questioned,” he explained.
The government therefore plans to map the extent of racism in Sweden, focusing primarily on racism against Muslims, Jews, Roma, Sámi and people of African descent. The goal is to “make the vulnerability of some groups visible so that it can be fought,” said Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrandová.
Ministers said the war in the Gaza Strip had contributed to an increase in cases of racism
The ministers added at the press conference that the war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip also contributed to the increase in the number of cases of racism and anti-Semitism. As an example, Brandberg cited the cases of marking the lockers of Jewish students in schools with swastikas, or young Muslims who face hatred and threats on social networks.
According to Sweden’s National Crime Prevention Board (BRA), 2,695 hate crimes were reported to the police in 2022, of which 53 percent were racist or xenophobic in nature.
AFP reminded that the minority right-wing government in the parliament is supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats – they are united by a political platform focused mainly on limiting immigration.
