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Fewer victims of violence in Denmark

Christian Wenande
March 9th, 2021


This article is more than 3 years old.

Just over 28,000 victims of violence were registered in 2020, which is a slight decrease compared to the year before

in 2020 there was a 4 percent decrease compared to 2019 (photo: Pixabay)

According to new figures from the national statistics keeper Danmark Statistik, 28,186 victims of violence were registered nationwide in 2020.

That’s a 4 percent decline compared to 2019 and it is largely down to a significant decrease in simple violence cases.

Simple violence cases can involve anything from punches and kicks to pushes and more atypical occurrences like mushing a cake into someone’s face.

It is the first time since 2012 that the number of registered victims of violence has declined.

Between 2012 and 2019, theannual figure had increased by 71 percent from 17,200 to 29,300.

READ ALSO: Parliament looking to crack down on psychological violence

Psychological violence, blackmail up
Typically, men make up the  majority of simple violence victims – a development that was again reflected in 2020, as 6,264 men made reports compared to 4,769 women.

Both figures decreased compared to 2019 – by 14 percent for men and 8 percent for women.

Nationally, however, there were increases in other types of violence, including threats, attempted manslaughter, illegal use of force and psychological violence (a new law in 2019 has allowed psychological violence to be registered).

There was also a 44 percent in the number of victims of blackmail in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Check out the figures here (in Danish).


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”