The collective The voice of young people counts and the organization Hoodstock, which campaigns against systemic inequalities, held a vigil on Friday evening in support of “all the young victims of sexual violence who have not had the chance to be protected, heard or believed”, in front of the Montreal offices of the Ministry of Education.
“The mere fact that we have to make such a gathering is shameful. Not for us, but for the government supposed to protect us”, accused Amélie Cloutier, student in secondary 5, who is “like many others, a victim of sexual assault”.
The collective, which brings together young women aged 15 to 21, denounces the government’s inaction. For more than five years, La voix des jeunes counts has been calling for the adoption of a framework law giving elementary and secondary school students the same protections as those granted to CEGEP and university students.
Since 2017, higher education institutions are obliged to adopt a code of conduct as well as a complaint, intervention and sanction process to combat sexual violence. But the law excludes primary and secondary schools.
However, in Quebec “more than half of the victims are not even adults”, underlines Kenza, member of the collective. According to the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, “approximately 1 in 9 women and 1 in 20 men in Quebec reported having been sexually assaulted by an adult before the age of 15”.
Wishing to extend the application of a code of conduct to primary and secondary educational establishments, the Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke for Québec Solidaire, Christine Labrie, tabled Bill 394 in October 2021, which has not, to date, , not adopted.
“While we wait, it is young people we are putting at risk. Because even if school is coming to an end to make way for summer, sexual violence does not take a vacation, ”said Alexandra Dupuy, co-coordinator of the collective.
The Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, relies instead on his Bill 9, the National Student Protector (PNE). But “we cannot apply the same solutions to intimidation as to sexual violence,” says Ms. Dupuy. “The collective is asking for a separate framework law because sexual violence has nuances that intimidation does not have,” she adds.
“Laying down words”
After a press conference given by representatives of the collective at the National Assembly on May 24, Mr. Roberge proposed to impose training on “all those who intervene with young people”, explains Ms. Dupuy. But she believes that this is not enough, since this new component of the PNE does not include “compulsory sexuality education courses for young people”, nor the offer of “psychological support service”.
“There is no education. We just incite to denounce and then to punish. But if we want to solve a problem, it has to be done from a young age, through education, through respect for the limits of consent,” adds Kenza.
Among the thirty people present on Friday evening, several insisted on the importance of “putting words” on their attacks. According to Ms. Dupuy, many young people are not aware that they have experienced sexual violence. “We are asking for a law so that everyone is alert”, summarizes Sha’nyce.
She too was sexually assaulted in high school, when she was 14 years old. “Me, they didn’t believe me, they didn’t support me, but they asked me to walk alongside my attackers. I was asked to adhere to the code of silence. “She now wants the disclosure to be facilitated by the presence of” aid and prevention resources directly in schools “.