an investigation reveals the extent of abuse at Polytechnique

Sexual or sexist violence is everywhere, even in the very famous Polytechnic School, in Palaiseau (Essonne). According to an internal survey, answered by more than 2,000 students, 35.3% of women educated here have been victims of non-consensual sexual remarks or attitudes. In addition, 23.1% of them would even have suffered sexual assault, and 11 students would have been victims of rape or attempted rape.

For Eugénie Multrier, a 2nd year student and member of the student council, these figures are unfortunately not surprising. “Within associative events, we know that there is a subject. We know a few people who have suffered from this kind of violence“, she underlines. Pressure of excellence during the week, very drunk evenings at the weekend… Some students seem not to be able to manage such a cocktail. To this is added the duty of reserve to which the students, all officers, are required. For the management of the famous engineering school, it was therefore important to put figures on the facts before they could process them. “We are going to do prevention in a much more systematic way“, assures General François Bouchet, Director General of the École Polytechnique.