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“The harassment is violent, the insults and the blows are violent, but the biggest violence is the loneliness and the lack of support around,” confides the singer.
A strong statement. In an interview with franceinfo, Wednesday September 27, singer and composer Christophe Willem denounces the school harassment he suffered when he was a teenager. “My daily life at that time was walking along walls. I had a high-pitched, effeminate voice, I was very stigmatized. This included insults, sometimes beatings, and I went to school with a ball at the belly”, explains the artist.
The 40-year-old singer explains that his isolation was very hard to live with. “Harassment is violent, insults and beatings are violent, but the worst violence is loneliness and the lack of support around you.”
“We must take measures to address the problem”
The one who became famous thanks to the musical show “Nouvelle Star”, in 2005, advises victims of harassment to “talk” with their loved ones, but concedes that it is “very delicate”.
>> “We sometimes feel mistreated”: teachers tell how they try to fight against school bullying
While the government presents its interministerial plan on Wednesday to combat school bullying, “absolute priority” back to school for Elisabeth Borne, Christophe Willem commented on recent news. And the numerous cases of harassment revealed across France. “We must take measures to address the problem”, he judges. According to him, educational establishments must have “the right personnel to act concretely on the ground”. And to conclude: “Otherwise, it’s just hype.”
Are you a victim of cyberbullying? Have you witnessed a situation of school bullying? If you need direct help, or are worried about one of your loved ones, free and confidential telephone numbers have been set up to answer your questions: 3020 (dedicated to harassment) and 3018 (dedicated to cyberharassment).
You can also contact the management or a member of the educational team of the establishment in which a case of harassment is detected. Finally, you will find a lot of information on how to react on the website of the Ministry of National Education.