“At first it was teasing (…) it ended with violence”

“Slaps, too, in winter, she took my head and she slammed it against the ice, it was quite violent“. These words are those of Maya Vanderbeque. She is on the poster of the film “A world” on the school bullying that she herself experienced. The fear of going to school, the lump in the stomach, the permanent questioning of oneself, the insults, the violence… For Maya, school bullying is not something that a child can experience.

Maya tried to talk about the bullying she suffered with her parents but also with the staff of her school. Today, with hindsight, she believes that it is essential that “adults put themselves at the height of children“. Not having been listened to as she wished, Maya therefore changed institutions. The first piece of advice Maya wants to give is to talk about it. “When you keep things to yourself, it can get worse because it’s heavy to bear, especially for a child,” she says. And finally, on the adult side, she implores them to listen carefully to the children, taking into account the repercussions that this can have on the victim.

In France, 700,000 children are affected each year by school bullying.