Against harassment, strong measures and sanctions?

Elisabeth Borne and her ministers presented the interministerial plan to combat harassment this Wednesday, September 27. They insisted on the triptych "prevention, detection, solution" and specified measures accordingly.

The Prime Minister promised a "relentless fight" against harassment. This struggle made a “priority” absolute" of the Ministry of National Education must be "collective" and justifies the interministerial plan presented this Wednesday September 27 by Elisabeth Borne and several of these ministers – those of National Education, Sports, Digital, Justice and Health ;. Everyone insisted on the triptych "prevention, detection, solution" to respond to the scourge which has led to the suicide of several adolescents in recent months: the young Lucas, Lindsay and more recently Nicolas who put an end to their suicide. his days after the start of the 2023 school year.

While "the page of silence is turning" and that we witness a release of speech on harassment as highlighted in this article. by Gabriel Attal, the Prime Minister guaranteed "rapid sanctions". She notably ensured that a systematic referral to the prosecutor will take place in cases of harassment. Other sanctions were imposed. listed by the various ministers completing the law of March 2, 2022 which created the offense of school harassment. If these sanctions are to be dissuasive, the government has insisted on the need for identify and prevent this violence from early childhood to prevent it from taking place. The role of the authorities and all people involved Even reporting acts of harassment was also a problem. mentioned and taken into account in this anti-harassment plan.

Preventing harassment and support students

The government intends to take the problem of harassment seriously. the root by supporting students who could learn more future become harassers or victims. Inspired by the Danish model, Minister Gabriel announced the generalization of empathy coursesand the establishment of a pilot school in all departments before the start of the 2024 school year. These workshops have already been implemented. Experienced in certain French establishments should enable students to better understand the feelings of others, to better express their own feelings and to better express their own feelings. term to recognize and report more abnormal situations and the harassment of a student. The identification of harassment must also be aided by a self-assessment grid, presented as a "detection test", which will be delivered to CE2 students on November 9. The grid should allow children to have a look at their own situation and to report any harassment of which they are victims. The idea behind the interministerial plan is also to better train the children and adults of the educational team to learn how to do this. identify and put an end to cases of harassment. For this, anti-harassment brigadeswill be trained "within each academy". These groups would be made up of national education officials trained to the fight against school bullying – these could be inspectors, psychologists or even teachers. The contours of the measurement must be precise. But their role is already arrested: prevent and intervene against harassment. These brigades should also be a safe place to allow victims of harassment to speak out.

Regarding cyberbullying, other dedicated awareness-raising measures have been taken. thoughts: a digital passport to warn all sixth grade students against the risks of the Internet and cyberharassment, the delivery of a booklet to children from 8 to 11 years old and finally raising awareness among parents.

The 3018 and training to report and detect harassment

Beyond stakeholders in the educational sphere, it is all adults who find themselves in contact with children and adolescents who must be better trained to do so. the fight against harassment, including in the field of sport. The government therefore wishes to offer solid training to the public. all education staff as part of the pHARe program (a plan for schools, colleges and high schools). A national day to combat school bullying could be established on November 9 throughout France.

In the absence of being able to provide answers, All people who witness a situation of harassment are called by the government to take action. report these facts. And to make reporting easier, the government has decided to to resort to a single number to report all acts of harassment or cyberharassment: 3018.

The Prime Minister also announced the dissemination of a communication campaign to intended for adults – more particularly parents, teachers, police officers and magistrates – from November 9. The aim is to raise awareness about the importance of children's words which must be heard and never minimized. The investigations into the suicides of Lucas, Lindsay and Nicolas showed: that'à each time the teenagers had alerted; about their situation, but that the competent authorities had not reacted sufficiently.

Graduated sanctions against harassment

The Harassment is punishable by law. In the most serious cases which lead to suicide or death. the suicide attempt the sanction can go up to 10 years in prison and 150,000 euros fine. But the actual convictions are still too few and the Prime Minister has promised systematic referral to justice. Ministers recalled the sanctions and announced new measures. For less serious acts, harassing students will be forced to follow a citizenship course specially oriented towards school bullying and its consequences. When the harassment is more serious, removal of the harasser and placement under judicial control with a ban on coming into contact with the victim may be possible. ;be pronounced, before heavier sentences.

Telephone confiscated, ban from networks… Sanctions against cyberharassment

Cases of cyberharassment call for action. other sanctions listed by the Minister of Justice. Which announced the systematic confiscation of the harasser's mobile phone when the device has been used for cyberharassment, a measure which also applies to computers and other IT equipment.&nbsp ;Beyond of deprivation of the telephone, the perpetrator of cyberharassment may be banned from the networksand platforms where violence was reported committed or shared. This ban may be imposed upon conviction for six months and for one year in the event of a repeat offense. But this restriction of access could also be pre-sentence and intervene at a later date. the opening of legal proceedings or judicial review has specified the Minister of Digital.

In addition to banning social networks, a digital curfew could also limit access to the platform without banning users from it. students. This measure would create a curfew "which would prohibit, for example, from 6 p.m. 8 a.m. use of social networks" explained Minister Gabriel Atta in Figaro. Please note that the time slot for the digital curfew has not yet been determined.