It is only two years since the penal code received an addition that stiffens the penalty if a victim is also humiliated.
But already now, Minister of Justice Nicolai Wammen (Social Democrats) declares himself ready to increase the penalty.
Thus, he agrees with a proposal from Venstre (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/partier-vil-slaa-haardere-ned-paa-ydmygelsesvideoer) to crack down harder on violence and humiliation videos.
The party's proposal came on Monday, after DR reported (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/kys-min-sko-boern-bruger-ydmygelsesvideoer-som-vaaben-mod-hinanden) on how Danish children and young people humiliate and beat others while filming it. The videos are spread on social media and, according to experts, have enormous consequences for the victims, because they are not only subjected to violence and humiliation but are also exposed online.
It is necessary to do something and raise the penalty, the minister believes.
"I think so, because this is so destructive for the children and young people who are subjected to it. So both as Minister of Justice and as a father, I cannot accept this in any way," he says.
In the video, from which this clip is taken, a boy is kicked in the head. He apologizes again and again while the violence continues. DR does not know the identity of the victim or the perpetrators, and therefore not the context of the video either.
The Denmark Democrats (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/partier-vil-slaa-haardere-ned-paa-ydmygelsesvideoer) also declared themselves in agreement that the penalty should be increased.
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V: Not enough with suspended sentence
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Venstre's group chair and acting legal spokesperson, Morten Dahlin, wants the penalty level raised so much that the penalty for simple violence is tripled if the perpetrator also humiliates the victim and films the assault. Today, the penalty is generally increased by 50 percent.
"Most importantly, we believe that the clear starting point must be that if you commit humiliation violence, you should not be able to get away with a suspended sentence. Then you should go directly to prison," he says.
Morten Dahlin calls it "outrageous" that videos with violence and humiliation of Danish children and young people are made and shared. He is group chair and temporary legal spokesperson for Venstre. (Archive photo) (Photo: © Niels Ahlmann Olesen, Berlingske/Ritzau Scanpix)
Minister of Justice Nicolai Wammen does not go into how much he thinks the penalty should be raised. He has previously stated to Berlingske (https://www.berlingske.dk/indland/nicolai-wammen-er-som-justitsminister-som-borger-og-som-far-dybt-bekymret-over-nye-tal-for-voldelige-boern) that it is also important to look at prevention.
Prevention is exactly what the Red-Green Alliance and the Danish Social Liberal Party would rather focus on. Both parties reject that simply raising the penalty solves anything.
"When children commit crime, it is a cry for help. Therefore, we should not only discuss punishment. We should discuss whether our preventive and social efforts are of high enough quality to ensure that children and young people do not continue on a criminal path," says the legal spokesperson for the Danish Social Liberal Party, Maria Georgi Sloth, in a written comment.
Read also: Why does DR broadcast violent videos with children? (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/hvorfor-bringer-dr-voldsomme-videoer-med-boern)
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The responsibility of the tech giants
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The Danish Social Liberal Party also points to the responsibility of the tech giants. So does Nicolai Wammen.
"We have some tech giants that have a huge task in taking their responsibility seriously. They make a lot of money from our children and young people. Then they should also take proper care of them, and I don't think they do that today," says the Minister of Justice.
Last Friday, several representatives of the tech giants were supposed to answer to the Minister of Justice. Among other things, violent and other harmful content was on the agenda.
Snapchat, Meta, and TikTok unanimously tell DR that they are working to prevent illegal or harmful content on their platforms.
The political head of Meta in the Nordics, Martin Ruby, assures that Meta is "a better place than a few years ago" when it comes to removing such content – among other things because artificial intelligence can monitor what is being posted.
"We have no interest in having that kind of content. We want to remove these things," he says.
In the new documentary series 'Brutale Børn' (Brutal Children), DR investigates how violence and humiliation videos are shared online. You can watch the documentary series on DRTV:
Brutale børn (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/brutale-boern_627993) Documentary | 1 SEASON
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