More than 50 cases of sexual assaults were reported at a youth festival this week in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, marking a doubling from last year’s festival.
The annual back-to-school celebration called “We are Sthlm” had added security to prevent rapes and sexual assaults. When the five-day festival ended Saturday, 51 incidents had been reported.
“We counted on getting a lot of complaints,” police officer Kjell Lindgren said, according to newspaper Aftonbladet. “In many cases we have caught the perpetrators.”
After the mass sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, it was revealed police had covered up dozens of assaults at We are Sthlm in years past.
Organizers and police say the high number is partially the result of more girls reporting crimes than before.
“There is a zero tolerance attitude among the youths themselves,” event manager Roger Ticoalu told Aftonbladet.
Several other festivals and concerts over the summer had the same problem of sexual violence, which led police to hand out bracelets to raise awareness. (RELATED: Sweden Thinks A Hashtag And Bracelets Will Solve Groping Problem)
“We hope this will, above anything else, make guys think once or twice,” National Police Chief Dan Eliasson said of campaign in June, according to The Local. “A lot of people don’t realize this is a crime.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.