children in care “are of no interest to anyone”, despairs a child rights activist

“Until when are we going to accept placing children, abandoning children in structures that are absolutely not suitable,” calls out Lyes Louffok, himself a veteran of child welfare (ASE) .

“There is this rather revolting feeling of saying that there are lives that matter less than those of others, those that affect the lives of children in care,” Lyes Louffok, child rights activist, was outraged on Thursday February 15 on France Inter, while a rally was organized on Thursday in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) after the suicide of a teenage girl on January 25. 15-year-old Lily found hanged in a hotel where she was placed.

“No one is interested”said this former foster child who is taking aim at a child protection system “breathless” who is not “more able to meet its primary objective, which is to protect children”. In addition to Lily’s suicide near Clermont-Ferrand on January 25, Lyes Louffok cites the cases of another young girl, Nour, who was placed in a hotel in Paris and “who threw herself into the Seine”that of Jess, “stabbed by another child placed in a hotel in Suresnes” or “Anthony Lambert, who was killed in a campsite in Saône-et-Loire. How long will this last?” asked the one who has become the voice of placed children. “If we ban this method of placement, if we do not create new places, if we do not improve the working conditions of social workers, there will be other tragedies”he warned.

“Until when are we going to accept placing children, abandoning children in structures that are absolutely not suitable,” he insisted. He deplored the inertia of the public authorities, in particular the departments which manage social assistance for children. “Elected officials must show much more responsibility on this issue and systematically, before each decision taken, ask themselves the question of whether they would accept it for their own children”declares the activist who knows what he is talking about since he was placed on child welfare from birth, he himself was a victim of sexual violence and violence when he was in homes. “Everything is an obstacle course” for these young people, he summarized.

In 2022, Parliament passed the Taquet law, named after the former Secretary of State, Adrien Taquet, providing for the ban on February 1, 2024 of placements of young people from Child Social Assistance (ASE) in hotel, except “exceptionally to respond to emergency situations or ensure the shelter of minors” and not to exceed two months. A law which is, for the moment, not in force, due to lack of implementing decrees. “Lily, she ticked all the boxes of what was prohibited from 2022”castigated Lyes Louffok. “Lily, she was fifteen, Lily, she had attempted suicide before she was even placed in this hotel and we still put her in a hotel”, he regretted. He also deplores a lack of supervision and monitoring. “In this structure where Lily was placed, there was the hotelier, the night watchman and that’s it, there was no one else”he pointed.

If you need help, if you are worried or if you are faced with the suicide of a member of your entourage, there are anonymous listening services. The Suicide listen line can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 01 45 39 40 00. Other information is also available on the website of the Ministry of Solidarity and Health. To report any situation of harassment or cyberharassment, whether you are a victim or a witness, there are free, anonymous and confidential telephone numbers: 3020 (harassment at school) and 3018 (cyberharassment), reachable from Monday to Saturday , from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Other information is also available on the website of the Ministry of National Education.