The general secretary of the teaching union wonders after the arrest in the middle of class of a 14-year-old teenager, in Alfortville (Val-de-Marne), suspected of harassment against a transgender student.
The arrest in the middle of class of a student suspected of harassment “shocked a lot because we believe that the police do not necessarily have a place in a school establishment”, declared Tuesday, September 19 on franceinfo Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of SNES-FSU, the first union in secondary education, after the arrest during class, in Alfortville (Val-de-Marne), of a 14-year-old teenager. years old, suspected of homophobic remarks against a transgender student. His father put down a handrail.
franceinfo: What are the reactions after this arrest?
Sophie Vénétitay: There is certainty and questions. The certainty is that faced with what turns out to be harassment with homophobic or transphobic connotations, it goes without saying that we must react and sanction. We know that bullying harms students and can kill them. If such facts are proven, sanctions must be imposed within the establishment. And since it is a crime, the police and justice must take charge of it. This is a message we owe to students who are harassed. The questions colleagues who learned what happened may be asking are why did the police enter the establishment? Wasn’t it better for things to go differently? How did we get there? Who made the decision to enter the school? This raises a lot of questions, but this should not erase the absolute imperative of fighting against harassment, and of the prevention that must be carried out.
Does the intervention of the police during class shock you?
This shocked a lot, because we believe that the police do not necessarily have a place in a school establishment. It is a place where students are there to learn. When they do not respect the rules of a school, they are punished, and they are taught why they must be respected. When they do not respect the criminal rules, there too they can be sanctioned with educational work behind them so that they learn from their mistakes. All this must be done with respect for what an educational establishment is. So tonight there are questions about the handling of this case.
Can this serve as an electric shock for students?
These are the words of the Minister of National Education. It’s true that this can shock, challenge, send a strong signal. Perhaps this is what those who made the decision were looking for. We think we need to send clear and strong messages. They must be sent to victims of harassment, telling them that we listen to them, that we believe them and that we do not leave them alone. We must also speak to the harassers by showing that they will be punished, because harassment is a scourge. We also need to work on the educational dimension and show that these behaviors should not be reproduced. Is sending the police in the middle of class the best solution? This is a question that remains to be asked.
Are you going to address this question during your meeting on school bullying with the office of the Minister of National Education tomorrow?
We will ask the Minister of National Education how such a decision was taken, and why. There is the certainty that we must fight against school bullying, that we must sanction students who harass. But we must understand how such a decision was made.