speech boxes installed in the changing rooms of the Toulouse Stadium

“You put the note in the mailbox”, explains that day, Sarah Kadi of the association The butterflies at the Minimettes of the Toulouse Stadium. Teenage girls from the training center of the prestigious rugby club, very attentive, who welcome the approach. “I think it’s a good practice because there are some people who find it difficult to express themselves orally”, testifies Eva, 13 years old.

Write when you can’t talk. This is the objective of these mailboxes that the volunteers of the association The butterflies deploy in schools and sports clubs. “Because there is urgency”, they explain. “Each year, it is estimated that 700,000 children are victims of school bullying, or three children per class. 165,000 are raped or sexually assaulted”, can be read on the association’s website.

The association The butterflieswhich fights against child abuse, was created in 2019 by Laurent Boyet, a childhood victim of incestuous sexual violence. The local branch of Haute-Garonne has installed nine mailboxes in the department in one year. In schools and lately at Stade Toulousain because the world of sport can also be a place of mistreatment. Only the association has access to the testimonies collected.

At the professional high school of Rieumes, one day after dropping off a mailbox, there was already a note. “And not least, to report great abuse. Help was given. More words followed, reports Sarah Kadi, Haute-Garonne referent of the association. Yes, the device works well” she concludes with a smile.

The testimonies are analyzed by childhood professionals. Depending on the seriousness of the facts, they can be reported to the courts.