Teenager in Maribor seeks help following hazing, police urge reporting
A teenager in Maribor has sought medical assistance following exposure to spray during hazing on the first day of school. Police are urging all incidents of hazing against individuals' will to be reported.
Hazing on first day of school: teenage victim injured, police demand reports
Google News SI — Crime (sl) reports that a teenager in Maribor sought medical assistance on the first day of school due to consequences of spray use during hazing. Police are urging all pupils who have been victims of hazing against their will to report it.
At several secondary schools across Slovenia, older pupils conducted informal forms of "welcome" alongside official reception ceremonies for first-year students. On the streets of Maribor, police officers observed several teenagers of various ages sprayed with paint. Around 12 o'clock, they received a report that unknown individuals in the town centre had thrown flour and eggs and soiled a shop display, with no material damage reportedly occurring. In one case, spray was used to damage the façade of a building; authorities are gathering information about this criminal act and are urging those affected to report it.
Maribor Police Headquarters explained that every year at the beginning of the school year, surveillance is intensified around schools and in city centres. "If any pupil experiences hazing against their will, such actions must be reported to the police. In this case, police officers will investigate elements of violations of public order and peace, and as can already be seen from today's reports, rash and rowdy behaviour by young people can lead to criminal offences. Police officers will take action in all described cases in accordance with our competencies," they announced.
Ljubljana Police Headquarters, meanwhile, received four reports today of suspected criminal conduct linked to young people and the first day of school in Ljubljana's town centre. Police officers at the scene detected no elements of criminal conduct or received reports of any violence. One report was related to a person who required medical care following inhalation of paint and was subsequently discharged for home care.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth has most severely condemned actions that humiliate pupils, intimidate them or endanger their safety and dignity. "Events that media outlets report on at the beginning of the new school year do not represent an acceptable way of welcoming first-year pupils into the secondary school environment, but rather unworthy and inappropriate conduct that has no place anywhere," they stated. Hazing, in their view, is unacceptable when it involves humiliation or intimidation and cannot be justified by tradition or custom.
Minister Borut Rončevič is concerned and troubled, according to the ministry. "Such conduct is impermissible and I most severely condemn it. The beginning of the school year must be a time of anticipation and new opportunities, not humiliation or intimidation. In our society and school environment there is no room for actions that infringe on the dignity and safety of young people," they summarised his words.
The National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) emphasises that entertainment is acceptable as long as it is safe and voluntary. "When someone forces, humiliates, injures or exposes another person to danger, it is no longer entertainment," they warned. NIJZ highlighted the risks of skin injury and urged pupils toward careful and courteous behaviour. They drew particular attention to the use of alcohol and psychoactive substances, activities in which falls or impacts can occur, marking bodies with inappropriate substances, coercion into unwanted actions, undressing, sexual innuendo or touching, humiliating conduct in front of a group, and recording and publishing footage without consent. "If someone says no, that is enough," they concluded.
Source: Google News SI — Crime (sl)