Brut spent a day at the 3020 call center

“What you’re going through is really called bullying. And it’s a crime”. This kind of call, Audrey receives dozens a day. “There, it was a student victim of bullying in 6th grade. Her and her best friend”comments the young woman, hanging up. Each call lasts about twenty minutes. “It’s always difficult calls, because these preteens, these children, these teenagers who call us are in pain and do not know how to present things. So we try to guide them step by step. To also provide them with some benchmarks. There, for example, what triggered something positive in this young girl was to realize that harassment is prohibited by law.”.

3020, the number to call in case of bullying

3020 is a number set up by National Education in a national plan to fight against bullying at school. The listening platform is managed by an association, The school of parents and educators of Île-de-France. The more the months pass, the more the calls multiply. “During the year, it’s non-stop” says François, listening. However, the team is small and fails to respond to all requests. “In 2021, we had 77,417 requests and we handled 18,295. We need to be more numerous” explains Francois. Recently, a new type of caller profile has appeared: parents of bullying children. “We also get slightly more frequent calls from parents of bullying students who are asking questions. And that is very important that we also talk about it” says Audrey, who reminds us that it is necessary for parents to listen to their children in a context where bullying is more and more frequent in schools.