The headlines above appeared in the Daily Mail yesterday.
Sweden has had a huge influx of refugees over the last year. In a country of just over 9 million people, the total is heading towards 200 000 within a year, which is the highest per capita in Europe. At its highest in the autumn, more than 2000 people were arriving per day.
The murder above was of a 22-year old Swedish-Lebanese social worker by a 15-year old male refugee in a centre for unaccompanied minors between the ages of 14 and 17. This follows the New Year groping ‘attacks’ by male unaccompanied minors at several train stations in Sweden (as well as the rest of Europe) and five underage girls being sexually assaulted by young male asylum seekers at a Stockholm swimming bath in January.
There is a really interesting article by Valerie Hudson on the Politico website which shows that on any given day in 2015, about 90 unaccompanied males younger than 18 entered Sweden, compared with just eight unaccompanied females.
As a result, among 16- and 17-year-olds across Sweden as a whole, the male-to-female ratio is far more skewed even than in China at the height of its one-child policy, only recently relaxed.
18,615 males aged 16 and 17 entered Sweden in the past year, compared with just 2,555 females of the same age. Added to the existing population of the same age, it means there are now 121,914 males in Sweden aged 16 or 17, compared with 99,079 girls — a 123:100 male-to-female ratio. In China, the male to female ratio in the same age group is approximately 117:100. [NOTE: since the article was written, the ratio has increased to 126:100]
Hudson argues that it will not take long for Sweden’s broader young adult population to be similarly skewed, assuming the trend in migrant arrivals continues as expected beyond this year.
Which will point to an increasing problem in Europe if the recent incidents in Germany, Belgium and Sweden are anything to go by. Namely, large groups of unsupervised, traumatised boys egging each other on in large groups with different cultural references and with different attitudes to women than are prevalent in Europe. I wonder if education is the solution to this?
Sweden, to keep down the numbers of refugees, has tightened the rules for family immigration, meaning that fewer girls will come as part of the family immigration that usually follows the initial wave of refugees. Meaning a more permanently skewed male:female ratio and far-reaching consequences of all kinds. Unless Sweden (and all other countries with this same demographic change) attempt to address this gender imbalance. If they do, it will be interesting to see how they manage it.
The refugees you speak of, are they Syrian? With all of that going on how do you keep yourself safe?
My heart aches for the 10 yr old boy, I just don’t understand and guess I never will.
Mostly from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, which means a lot of in-fighting among different groups. It’s awful!