Students in Gothenburg protest over “slut” allegations
Protests by teenage school students over sexual rumours about young teenage girls spread on photo-sharing service Instagram have turned violent after police intervened.
The outrage was sparked by an Instagram user who asked for tips on “sluts” in Gothenburg, who received more than 200 pictures of girls aged 13 and 14 from the city along with their names and their alleged sexual activities.
Once the Instagram account was shut down, the allegations the appeared Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, where many teenagers commented naming each other, which the conversations quickly escalating to threats of violence.
Expecting trouble, police arrived at Plusgymnasiet High School by 8.30am, after another Facebook page appeared that blamed a student at Plusgymnasiet for publicising the girls’ names and encouraged students to gather there in protest, with around 600 agreeing to come according to police spokesman Fredrik Dahlgren. The student alleged to have circulated the rumours the enraged the protesters has been taken to a safe location.
The confrontation quickly escalated, even though police had blocked off roads and had mounted police and SWAT teams at the ready, with students reportedly kicking down lampposts and jumping on cars according to observers on the scene. Police spokesman Björ Blixter told the Aftonbladet newspaper that the protesters were:
“Throwing bottles and stones at the police and attacking passers-by and people driving past”
The protesters then reportedly “rushed” into the nearby Nordstan shopping centre in Central Gothenburg, which caused shoppers to try and keep out of their way within shops, with one shopper describing that they “rushed in and were chasing one another and shouting threats”.
Police parked a van at the entrance to the shopping centre in an attempt to block access to the advancing protesters, but the commotion had calmed by 2pm with no damage reported.
