After the suicide of Lindsay, a 13-year-old schoolgirl, Karine Dupuis looks back on the prevention system put in place in recent years by schools and suggests ways to improve it.
School bullying is a scourge that never ceases to claim victims. Lindsay, a 13-year-old girl, committed suicide on May 12 in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais). According to her family, the girl had been bullied since September, insulted at college and harassed online on social media. Four minors have been indicted on the charge of “school harassment leading to suicide”, announced Thursday, May 25, the prosecutor of Béthune. A fifth person, an adult, was indicted for “death threats”.
>> Lindsay’s suicide in Pas-de-Calais: what we know about this case of school harassment
A few months ago, a similar case in the Vosges shocked and moved the whole of France. Lucas, 13, killed himself on January 7. Between mockery and homophobic insults, he said he had been harassed for several months. His college had however set up the pHARe system to fight against harassment, launched by the former Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer in 2019.
According to the latest figures from the ministry, relayed by AFP, 91% of colleges and 64% of schools are already enrolled in this program. For franceinfo, Karine Dupuis, national referent of the FCPE on the subject, summarizes the current plan to fight against school harassment and urges even more prevention.
Franceinfo: How is the system for combating and preventing school bullying organized today?
Karine Dupuis: VSThis struggle has been structured in institutions and in academic bodies for about ten years. The most recent advance is the pHARe program, a bullying prevention plan deployed in all elementary schools and all public colleges since 2022 [il a d’abord été expérimenté dans six académies]. The Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye, recently announced its extension to high schools [pour la rentrée 2023].
In particular, it makes harassment prevention courses compulsory, from CP to 3rd grade, and urges establishments to study “the school climate” within their walls. This involves several aspects, such as the training of teachers, the involvement of students, but also the school building. Because working on the issue of bullying means working on the well-being of students in all its forms. In many colleges, there are beginning to have hostels. When friendly places develop, students feel better at school and this limits the emergence of bullying.
In addition, the No to Harassment Award [concours national de création d’affiche ou de vidéo sur le harcèlement en milieu scolaire]organized by the ministry, is gaining the support of more and more establishments.
The pHARe program also includes students in this fight. Is the approach bearing fruit?
There are now student ambassadors, who are in a way “harassment” referents for other students. The latter can be at the origin of projects and actions on the subject, but they are also an attentive ear for those who are suffering at school. In some establishments, they wear a badge to be easily spotted.
In fact, the work is more buoyant than when only adults put their noses in it. We see this, for example, when the students write their own rules: the rules are more respected when they come from themselves, whereas they are often more severe. It is through these young people that we can also change mentalities.
When acts of bullying are reported, what are the school’s levers for taking action?
THE Headteacher and teachers receive bullying students. In most cases, concerns are resolved through discussions, or even sanctions (summons to the disciplinary council, temporary expulsion or not), decided according to the degree of seriousness. But more and more, we favor listening and accountability work. For example, you can choose to have him write a letter of apology or include him in an anti-harassment project.
In April, Pap Ndiaye announced that he wanted to modify the Education Code in primary schools, to allow the bullying pupil to be sent to another school. This is already possible in the second degree, thanks to the disciplinary council. In the most serious cases, is this removal measure a solution?
Let’s be clear: it’s already better than letting the harassed student change schools. But that won’t solve the problem. SIf the pupil did not understand the sanction, he will start again elsewhere. And the fact of moving it elsewhere will not necessarily allow a reconstruction of the harassed student. On this subject, it is necessary to engage a better psychological accompaniment of the pupils at the school, and that passes by more personnel.
Outside of school, parents can also lodge a complaint. Harassment is now recognized as an offense [depuis la loi du 2 mars 2022]. It was a big step forward, because the harassed are all the more recognized as victims. It was very important for these students and for their families.
But dramas still take place, like Lindsay’s suicide. The harassment had however been reported to the college and sanctions had been taken, one student having even left the establishment. Why are there still flaws?
So that these acts of harassment never happen, nor its dramatic consequences, we must focus more on prevention. Harassment is the symptom of a malaise. You have to look at the reasons that lead a student to bully. As a reminder, the vast majority of harassers have already been harassed, or will be one day. In particular, the bullying prevention courses of the pHARe program could be generalized in kindergarten. The sooner we act, the better.
Work must also be initiated on the side of the families of harassers. Today, we don’t have the tools to tell them what to do. In addition to feeling guilty, they feel helpless. The other important component is the adults in the school. In some schools, we know that the subject is still taken lightly. All staff, not just teachers, must be open to discussion.
According to a Senate investigation published in 2021, between 800,000 and one million students are victims of school bullying each year. This violence is now amplified by cyberbullying. Because virtual, it is difficult for the school to fight…
This is the hyper complex side of harassment today. Before, even if we were bothered at school, we knew that once we got home, it was over. Now, that is no longer the case. On the establishment side, there are bound to be things that go under the radar. It may well prohibit the use of mobile phones within it, but we know that the students will recover it in the evening, and that it is at this time of the day that cyberbullying is the most virulent. Once again, prevention remains the best tool. Workshops with gendarmes on this issue of cyberbullying are becoming more and more widespread in schools.
If you need help, if you are worried or if you are confronted with the suicide of a member of your entourage, there are anonymous listening services. The Suicide listening 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 cyberbullying, whether you are a victim or a witness, there are free, anonymous and confidential telephone numbers: 3020 (harassment) and 3018 (cyberharassment), reachable from Monday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. at 20 hours. Other information is also available on the website of the Ministry of National Education.