Last Week in Denmark

School Phone Ban, Hate Crime Surge, and How to Handle Denmark’s Rat Season: LWID S4E9

• Season 4 • Episode 9

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Phones, prejudice, and pests — Denmark’s been busy this week. A new nationwide phone ban in schools sparks debate about children’s focus and well-being, while hate crimes are on the rise, raising questions about safety and inclusion. Dom and Golda bring an international perspective before lightening the mood with rat season tips and a brief look at the drone scare near Copenhagen Airport.

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Dominika:

Hello and welcome to Last Week in Denmark, episode nine. My name is Dom and I have Golda here with me. Hi, Golda, Nice to see you. How was your week?


Golda:

Hi. My week was hectic. It was very, very busy. Lots of things happening at the same time. So kind of just really tired.


Dominika:

Is it good tired though or is it a bad tired.


Golda:

With the weather changing and it's really cold? I don't think it's a good tired.


Dominika:

Yeah, fair enough.


Golda:

What about you? How are you?


Dominika:

Yeah, I've also been pretty busy. Also quite tired and I do think we have some storm weather upcoming soon in Denmark, so definitely not something to look forward to, but also a good opportunity to be a bit hyggeligt at home. So that's nice.


Golda:

Yeah, that's true. It is hygge time.


Dominika:

Yeah. Well, today we have some really interesting topics. We're going to discuss the fact that Denmark is banning mobile phones in schools and after school programs. We're going to be discussing that hate crimes in Denmark are unfortunately on the rise. And lastly, we will be discussing that rat season is starting and we will be sharing potentially some tips on how to protect yourselves from the rats. Yes. So a lot of interesting topics. If we start with a mobile ban in schools, I think that's also relevant to you because I think you have children as far as I remember.


Golda:

Yeah, I have one, she is eight and luckily she goes to a school where they don't have phones. But yeah, this has been in the talk for quite some time actually. I think we did a previous episode where they were discussing this. So what are your thoughts?


Dominika:

Yeah, I think it's very interesting. They will be banning all sorts of smartphones and any sort of private devices in folkeskolen all the way from the beginning, all the way to grade 10, where I believe they're around 15 years old. There will be, of course, exceptions if someone has diabetes, for example, and they need to check up on their health. But in general I think it's a really good thing and I think it's one of those things where most people can agree on. From what I was reading, most of the parties agreed on this and nobody really had any objections. So I personally think it's good for everybody, both the teachers and especially the children and their brains, which I can imagine are very vulnerable at this stage.


Golda:

It is. And we have seen how like screen time is affecting young children and I read somewhere that kids already have social media before the age of 13. I think that is so early 


Dominika:

Yeah.


Golda:

And it puts so much pressure on them because it takes a lot to be able to filter and regulate social media.


Dominika:

For sure.


Golda:

So I just can't imagine how it is being a teenager and having to do that during school time. I was talking to a friend of mine and I remember when we were in school, if something happened, it was the time where everybody had those cameras that everybody carried around. But if something happened, you know, they would take pictures and they'll probably just maybe post something around the school. But now it's like whatever happens in, in one place can be shared to billions of people across the world. So like cyberbullying has gone up and there's a lot of pressure for like lifestyle. So young kids are wanting to look a and they compare themselves to other kids and what they have in the life. Yeah, I'm so happy that they'll have at least eight hours during the day where they are just present and focused in the classroom on teachers, classmates and not have to think constantly be in front of the phone.


Dominika:

Yeah, totally agree. I've also consulted an expert on this, the expert being my mom who's been a teacher for the last almost 30 years. She's a teacher in Poland and we don't have a ban like this in Poland, but specifically in the school where she works they introduced a ban like this three years ago as an experiment. And the first year where they did it there was quite a lot of backlash from both the parents and the children saying that they need the phones to communicate. What if something changes with, I don't know, the pickup times or whatever. That was kind of the backlash in the beginning, but now three years later she said says that everyone is extremely happy about it, that the children have so much better social skills and they actually talk during breaks which they didn't do before because before that they were just using their phones. And also as we mentioned, there were cases of cyberbullying also in very young children like 8 years old, 7 years old, where they would take a picture of someone and share it somewhere. And yeah, I think it's just way too early for those kind of things. So in my opinion, I think all of us, we firsthand experience what cheap dopamine can do to the brain. So in my opinion I think this is good for everybody.


Golda:

Especially because it is coming from like the well-being commission. So they must have looked at some data, some studies that show the effects of children having their phones. I have been a lærervikar, which is a substitute teacher in Denmark, I was for five years and during that time I experienced many different types of schools. But I really did enjoy the schools where when they came into the classrooms, they had, like a box and they would put their phones in the box and we'll lock it up. And kids would kind of, you know, know that when you're in school, you don't have to use your phone. So I'm happy that it's now becoming like policy and law so that more and more schools can see the effects of this. And I know that, as your mom mentioned, you know, people would be like, oh, but then how do I get in contact with my child? And I need to have access to my children. What if there's an emergency? Or some people also worry, does this mean, like, people will start sneaking phones around? But I really doubt that. 


Dominika:

Yeah, yeah.


Golda:

Depending on how the teacher is. But I don't think you can just sneaking, you know, sneak use your phone. Yeah. I hope also this serves as like, an example to neighboring countries and maybe even globally, because what we're seeing now with this younger generation is that they have way more anxiety levels than previous generations because of the boom of the Internet, the boom of information.


Dominika:

For sure. 


Golda:

And not being fully prepared because the parents of the kids were kind of also new to the Internet themselves. So all this information and how to process, nobody really taught us that when we were younger. We're kind of just learning as we go and with fake news. So I just think school should be a safe space where we can handle things that happen within the school and one's peers and developing social skills without the distraction.


Dominika:

Agree, agree. And also totally agree with what you said about neighboring countries maybe following that too, because from what I understood, this is one of the boldest steps in Europe. A lot of schools, they already have rules like this enforced on a school level. But I don't think it's happened before on a country level that all schools have to ban phones. I think a lot of countries will also be looking at this and seeing what happens, because Denmark seems to be really one of the first to do this.


Golda:

Wow. I'm happy they took that step. That's amazing.


Dominika:

Yeah. I mean, sometimes I wish someone locked my phone in a box, so maybe it will come to adults next.


Golda:

Yeah, that's actually true. That's actually true.


Dominika:

I think most people will agree that this is a good thing, and I'm very interested to hear how this unfolds. It is going to start in the next school year, so we have to wait a bit to see what's going to happen. But my prediction is that it will be a very positive thing.


Golda:

Yeah, me too.


Dominika:

That brings us to our second topic, which is not necessarily as positive and it's that hate crimes in Denmark have risen in 2024. Last year there were 877 hate crimes registered. In 2023 it was 744. And in 2022 it was 487. So they are going up, unfortunately. Why do you think that is?


Golda:

Denmark has been previously criticized by like EU in terms of hate crimes and not classifying them correctly, I think, also the Danish Institute for Human Rights spoke on this, that they previously have underreported or misclassified hate crimes as like, normal crimes. There's been a lot of talks about the motivation in which people do things and whether it is led by some type of prejudice and implicit biases also are not as clear to people. I think this has been a work in progress. I'm happy now that there's brought attention to it, though.


Fionn

Did you know that the Last Week in Denmark newsletter is available in eight languages? Hey there, this is Fionn from the Last Week in Denmark podcast. And every week you guys are tuning in to hear me and my fellow cohosts talk about the top news of the week in English. But let's be real, we're all internationals, so not only are you speaking English every day, you're probably also speaking a bit of Danish, but you've probably also got your own native language as well, like the multilingual master you are. So why not treat yourself to the luxury of being able to read Danish news each week in your own native language? So head on over to lastweekdk.substack.com that's last weekdk.substack.com and sign up for our newsletter delivered to you every single Sunday.


Dominika:

Yeah, one of my first thoughts when I looked at these numbers is, well, my very first thought was that this is very bad and it should not be the case. But I think what's also worth remembering is that those are the crimes that have been registered. So it's not that there have been that many crimes in this year, in the past year. And like you said, I think there has been a lot more focus on it in the recent years. Rightfully so. So I do think that also maybe an uptick with this could have something to do with the fact that we are now more sensitive to these kind of things as we should be.


Golda:

Yeah, I think a lot of awareness has been spread, a lot of education and also the, the problem is that a lot of the bias is institutionalized as well. So when hate crimes happen, if the person that is addressing them, whether it's the police handling the case or if it goes to court, if that bias is not addressed, it's very hard to be like, okay, this was a hate crime, right? There was a case some years ago with a young boy in Bornholm that was killed, and there were some racial slurs that were said. And many people were arguing that this, this could potentially be a hate crime because he was targeted because of his skin color and all that stuff where other people were like, no, it was just a fight between friends, and this is what happens.


Dominika:

And boys will be boys, that kind of thing.


Golda:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. So it was really that the perspective and the bias can sometimes also come forth, depending on the lens that we're looking at it. And then on top of that, also, I learned from my Muslim friends that wear hijab, that there's a lot of crimes that happened where people are also afraid to report it. Like, my hijabi friends say they don't walk close to the train tracks in the train station because there have been several cases, people who were hijabi being pushed on the train track.


Dominika:

Oh, wow. That's, yeah.


Golda:

I was like, that's something I've never heard about. But they were like, no, it happens quite often. So for us, it's just. It's just something we're just fully aware of. And that is hate crime. Right?


Dominika:

Yeah. And they don't report that. Right? So it doesn't.


Golda:

No.


Dominika:

Yeah.


Golda:

Exactly.


Dominika:

Yeah.


Golda:

Exactly.


Dominika:

Yeah. Definitely something to keep in mind. I mean, another thing I was quite interested in, which was a surprise for me, coming from a country that is not, as you could say, data-driven as Denmark, is that the police actually shows these statistics every year, and they are quite detailed in showing what the hate crimes were about. I was looking at the report for 2024, and out of the 877 hate crimes that were registered, 394 had a racial motive and 356 had a religious motive. And I think that also goes back to what you said, that a lot of these things are quite normalized in Denmark, where, you know, there is the hyggeracisme. And I think that is not often considered hate. It's just considered, oh that's just how it is.


Golda:

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.


Dominika:

And then another interesting thing that I found was that most of them, they actually happened in Copenhagen by a lot. I'm just looking at the statistic now, and Copenhagen has basically twice as many hate Crimes in the last year as any other part of Denmark. Yeah, which makes sense, because I think there is always a lot of things happening in Copenhagen. It's much closer to politics, and there's a lot more people. But I also think that potentially people are much more educated as to what to do when you want to report something.


Golda:

Yeah, I was going to say that. I think obviously there are more people in the bigger cities and especially in Copenhagen, and more internationals. But I also think that in smaller towns, one probably feels less supported to say anything, whether it is race, nationality or religion. My next question would be, okay, what do we do with the data now? Like, how well do victims get protection and justice under the current law? And what does it look like in terms of the legal framework and then the underground enforcement and trust? Are we telling people that we can now trust the police or legal system to actually bring justice to these crimes?


Dominika:

It did say that in the report, too, that out of all the hate crimes that happened last year, 525 of those were prosecuted in some way. Because a hate crime can be anything from a post or a graffiti that says something racist to actually using violence or intimidating somebody. So hate crimes is also a very wide range of things.


Golda:

Mmm, Okay.


Dominika:

I think also what is important to mention here, if anybody who's listening needs to hear this, is how to report a hate crime. Because, of course, it can happen to any of us. And I think everybody knows that if you're in urgent need of help and your life is in danger, you should call 112. But if you want to report something that has happened in the past and it's not a very urgent thing, you should call 114. And that is the police phone number. If you want to report something that has happened to you, even if you're not sure that it's a hate crime, you can just call that line and talk to the police. And one of the recommended things that the police says to do is write down what you experienced before you call, because sometimes stress can get the better of you and you can forget what happened. So it's always better to document as much as you can in order to get them as much data as possible.


Golda:

Yeah, that's really good.


Dominika:

Have you ever had any experience with reporting anything in Denmark, or luckily no.


Golda:

I have, and it did not go well.


Dominika:

Oh, yeah?


Golda:

Yeah. It's really hard to report. Not necessarily the steps, but the having to recall when you have gone through something that is emotionally charged and then now you have to stand in front of police and explain what happened 


Dominika:

For sure. 


Golda:

And they're just kind of looking at you, trying to gauge. I don't want to say that they're not properly trained, but I do think that the process for reporting certain crimes should be improved. I would say that. And I was in a cult, so that's. And we had to report the cult leader. And it was a few of us, and I would say it was. It was a very hard process to go through. And unfortunately, there was no justice at all. Even though there are several counts of several different crimes perpetrated by this individual. What about you?


Dominika:

No, actually, no. Luckily in that way. But I think it's always good to know what to do if something happens.


Golda:

I agree.


Dominika:

So I think everyone should know. And besides calling, there's always the option of writing the police an email too, or going to the police station personally. That brings us to our third topic, I believe, which I think is a little bit less heavy, which is that rat season is starting. When the cold weather is approaching, so are the rats. Basically. As temperatures drop, rodents and other pests seek shelter indoors, which causes an uptick in pest damage. In Denmark, there was a survey done by one of the insurance companies that nearly one in five Danes have experienced pest-related damage in their homes in the past year. Have you ever had any experience? 


Golda

Yes, I have. 


Dominika:

Really? 


Golda:

Yes, I have.


Dominika:

[laughs]


Golda:

I was renting a place and I was sleeping and then sometimes I like to fall asleep on the couch. And I remember one day I was sleeping and I like, had my hand over my head and I woke up late at night because something had jumped on my head and scratched my arm.


Dominika:

Oh, no.


Golda:

And I was like, what is this thing? Right? It had long, long, long nails. And I opened my eyes, got up, turned on the light, and then I just saw it. I was like, oh, my God. I texted my landlord immediately. I was like, just so you know, there's [laughs], there is a rat in this place. And it just jumped on my head, literally. And they were mortified. They were like, oh, my God, we're so sorry. We're gonna get somebody come to see it immediately. Like, don't worry. Are you okay? I was like, yeah, but it was just so unexpected.


[Dominika and Golda laugh]


Dominika:

Yeah, I mean, I can imagine. 


Golda:

Yeah. And then we started putting out like traps and stuff. There were like three or four. It was. Yeah. Never forget that experience.


Dominika:

Yeah, I had one experience like that. It was in the office and there was rats outdoors. Because basically whenever you see a rat, apparently you're always supposed to call the kommune. And then in most cases they will come and take care of it. And they were putting out poison to the rats and they told us to close the windows because when the rats escape from the poison, they might jump because we were on the bottom floor. As an animal lover, I know they're pests, but I was kind of sad to hear that.


Golda:

So it wasn't necessarily in your personal space?


Dominika:

No, no, no, it wasn't. I've. In my personal space. I've never experienced, for now, luckily, any rats.


Golda:

Yeah.


Dominika:

What I thought was also quite interesting was, as of 2014, as an individual person, you're not allowed to buy rat poison yourself. 


Golda:

Oh!


Dominika:

It's only the kommune that's allowed to use it. There's a range of rat traps you can buy yourself. And I went a bit down the rabbit hole, or the rat hole, you could say. I was researching whether there's any ethical rat traps you can use, because, yeah, I think a lot of the traps that people use are quite unethical and oftentimes the rats die in pain. And from what I research, most traps besides poison are legal in Denmark. There's even live traps that you can buy and just make sure that they're alive, carry them out in the trap and set them free again. There's all sorts that you can do it ethically. But the best thing you can do when you see a rat anywhere in the vicinity of your home is just call the kommune because they will know how to deal with it.


Golda:

Okay, that's actually good to know.


Dominika:

Yeah. And also what I wrote is that most, not most, but a lot of insurances, they don't always cover rat damage. So I think this is also a good time of the year to check what kind of home insurance you have. And if you don't make sure that your house is rat-proof.


Golda:

That's a good sign for anyone who's new to Denmark to make sure that you have home insurance.


Dominika:

Yeah, exactly. Make sure you have the right kind of insurance. And then I also found a list online of all the things that you can do to make sure that the rats don't enter your house in the first place. And there's a lot of things that you can do, but I think, especially in the older buildings in Copenhagen, just make sure that there's no holes in the external walls and there's no little spaces like grates or ventilation grates where the rats can crawl in. You can even buy rat barriers for the sewers, apparently, because I think it's always easier to keep the rats out in the first place than try and chase them out. Ethically, on top if you're someone like me, but I don't know if everyone shares the same sentiment.


Golda:

No, I completely agree with that. That makes the most sense, actually.


Dominika:

Yeah, ideally that should be the case, but I guess it's not always possible if there's a huge infestation. Oh, and one more thing important to mention. Never touch a rat if you see one, because they can carry diseases. Yet another reason to call the professionals for that one. Those are three topics for today. I think it was a good mix of positive and negative and maybe a bit funny. Do you have any last thoughts or anything else that comes to mind?


Golda:

Yes, I do. Part of the bonus was the drones that are flying around Copenhagen Airport and apparently, also in/around Oslo. And some people have been a bit worried. What do you think about that? What have you heard living in Copenhagen?


Dominika:

So what I've heard about the drones were quite mixed reactions. I think a lot of people like me, I'm from Poland, where we are much closer to a lot of more serious things that are happening in the war in Ukraine. I think a lot of people thought it was quite scary because obviously it was not a coincidence that it happened in more than one airport in Denmark. But on the other hand, a lot of people took it a bit more lightheartedly because we don't know exactly who the perpetrator was. So I think it was quite hard to say. I live in Ørestad which was quite close to Bella center that was hosting the meeting of the EU heads regarding security. So I think the day of that meeting, that was a few days ago, there was a ton of police around and I assume that there wouldn't be that much police if the drones had not happened before. So I also think that it was not a coincidence that the drones were flying over Denmark so closely to the date of that meeting.


Golda:

That's so interesting. I just read that there were a lot of plane cancellations and people were not getting compensated for this situation. But the perspective that you brought is an interesting one that I haven't really thought about. So thank you for sharing that.


Dominika:

Yeah, we live in weird times.


Golda:

Definitely.


Dominika:

Yeah. And I think going back to our second topic, because we live in weird times, we have to not let it divide us and not let it spread any more hate than there already is out there. Yeah. And I think we just have to come together and support each other because it's scary for everyone and more hate and racism and whatever is out there is not going to help it.


Golda:

I completely agree.


Dominika:

Well, this was a great chat. Thank you so much. It was great speaking with you as always. And also as always, thank you so much to the listeners for listening. We hope you took something interesting out of this episode.


Golda:

Thank you.


Kalpita:

Hey, this is Kalpita and Golda, cohosts of the Last Week in Denmark podcast. Did you know Last Week in Denmark offers sponsored content in the newsletter? Our reporters are producing original articles and content tailored for internationals in Denmark. 


Golda:

So if you have a business our readers should know about, let us write about it. Get in touch with us at reporter@lwid.dk You can also reach out to us on LinkedIn and Instagram @lastweekindenmark.

People on this episode

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LWID

Host
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Dominika Handzlik

Guest
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Golda Fania

Guest