Back to school is now upon us; a new generation of victims of sexual violence who will be abandoned by the school system will emerge, with the shameless approval of the outgoing government. For too long, we — the youth collective “La voix des jeunes compte” — have been mobilizing to enable all young people in Quebec to be educated in safe, fair and violence-free establishments, which is necessary given that ‘we spend most of our time at school. It is our second home.
On February 7, 2022, in the wake of the scandal of sexual violence in the sports world, we spoke to the Minister of Sport and delegate for education, Isabelle Charest, as well as to the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge. We reiterated the same speech that we have been repeating for five years already: “it is time to act now and to put in place a law against sexual violence in primary and secondary schools in Quebec. »
The solution you brought to us, the online form “I file a complaint”, is a measure that is unsuited to the reality of young people who are part of the sports community and who are students. Especially since when you send the form and you are a minor, a report is automatically sent to the DPJ and the police without any form of help or support. “When you go to see a worker, it’s not necessarily to file a complaint, but rather to seek help because it takes time and support before you understand that you’ve experienced sexual violence. . »
On May 24, 2022, we once again took the floor where major decisions are made in Quebec: the majestic National Assembly. Mr. Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, when we passed each other in the hallways, there was great unease. Our group of young people, who had just made their sixth publicized speech in 2022, reminded you of the need to protect young people in Quebec. You had before you one of us who had just given a personal testimony: “in Quebec society, regardless of our gender or our age, we have the right to safety and dignity; I didn’t have it, I was not supported, but I was asked to walk alongside my attackers. I was asked to adhere to the law of silence”.
Prevention and awareness
The solution that Minister Roberge brought us: the improvement of the student ombudsman, a measure that is immediately flawed since it does not include concrete measures to raise awareness and prevent sexual violence for all people who attend schools.
“When the management orders you to remain silent so as not to harm the reputation of the school, or you will be suspended, or when the police are brought in through the front door of the school in full view of everyone and that we are forced to denounce and recount several times what we have experienced, it is re-victimizing and inhuman. Even in this situation, adult victims of sexual violence have more rights and dignity than us. We denounce the way in which the student ombudsman is used to erase our struggle and we refuse to be complicit in this betrayal of all young people in Quebec.
Because waiting more than a year before having results from the student ombudsman, as suggested by the Minister of Education in an interview for the newspaper The Press, it’s taking young people for guinea pigs who will become statistics in several years, when the studies are already unanimous: more prevention and awareness are needed. The outgoing government is letting young people live experiences that will traumatize them for life, while it has the tools in hand and the power to act.
Essentially, what you are telling us is: “Let’s continue the omerta in the schools of Quebec. It is not normal that sexual touching, rape and sexual exploitation are part of our daily life in the school environment. It’s irresponsible, and any adult who acts so negligently would have the responsibility of the youngsters removed. Experimenting on the backs of students is deliberately putting them in danger in addition to playing low-level politics.
Here, we are talking about an emergency, we no longer have the time to “let the change live”. Enough lives have been shattered, enough generations have been sacrificed. We demand a law entirely devoted to the issue of gender-based violence as a measure of reparation for the victims of the past, those of the present and for us, who have devoted all our youth to the fight against sexual violence.
We ask for a clear commitment to allocate the necessary resources to make our schools safe and free from violence. We are asking the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, for a formal meeting to show us that the voice of young people really counts, because we already have a clear commitment from all the other parties. Do more. Do better. act now