Going to school, playing in the playground, meeting friends in the hallways… All these little everyday moments have become sources of anxiety for Marlène and Garance. These two sisters, enrolled in CM 2 at Thiers elementary school in Raincy (Seine-Saint-Denis), say they are victims of school harassment from a little boy in the same class as Marlène. Medical certificates also attest to the “disorders” or “psychological consequences” that they present because of the bullying they have suffered since last September in this establishment where they have nevertheless been schoolgirls since CP.
“Everything was going well at this school until the arrival of a new student at the start of the school year,” reports Yann, their dad. There were a few blows, but above all a lot of insults and humiliations. » “Once, he kicked me in the throat while we were at the swimming pool,” describes Marlène. “He called me vermin, gave me a big headbutt in the stomach, tried to make me fall several times,” reports Garance. This all stresses me out a lot. » The little girl’s anxieties are turning into school phobia. She regularly misses class, no longer having the strength to face the boy who causes her so much torment.
Triggering of the harassment protocol
“He called me fat,” also relates Marlene, who has since started talking to her parents about diet. “When we pick them up from school, they are sometimes in tears. They don’t want to go there anymore, it could end in a crisis. Marlène had a flare-up of eczema,” their dad relates. In September, the family contacted the teacher to discuss the situation. Several meetings took place with the educational team without succeeding in calming the school climate for these twins.
PODCAST. School harassment: speaking out, the key to saying an end to this scourge of playgrounds
The parents notably attended an educational team meeting (REE) with the teacher, a mediator specializing in school bullying, the director and a psychologist with the aim of “resolving the bullying situation”, as specified in the note. summary of the meeting which indicates the “triggering of the harassment protocol”. “We are giving ourselves until the holidays to see if the climate calms down and if a change is visible. Parents are asking for a very symbolic act for their children and other students. The information is transmitted to the National Education inspector who monitors the situation closely,” states the report. But according to the family, the problems continued.
One in ten students affected
At the beginning of February, she therefore decided to file a complaint for “harassment in a school environment”. A second REE was organized a few days later. “The district inspector was present,” reports Yann. The discourse then changed. They told us that they had put things in place, but would not tell us what exactly. All that was proposed was that Garance no longer go to recess or that the girls arrive at school at staggered times so that they no longer have to meet him before class. We of course refused, that would have stigmatized them… They even dared to place their harasser as a victim. »
“The situation has been the subject of careful monitoring for several weeks by the educational team, the school mediator and the National Education inspector,” assures the Directorate of Departmental Services of National Education, which specifies that the “national protocol for the prevention of harassment” has been implemented. “Several educational team meetings were organized, in particular requesting the National Education psychologist,” she adds. The last one was held on Friday March 17.
“We cannot tell a child to arrive later to class or to avoid the canteen”
“This kind of story is a bit like our daily life, there are lots of children who are harassed from primary school. This concerns approximately one student in 10,” recalls Nora Tirane Fraisse, founder of the Marion association, La Main tende, specializing in the fight against school bullying. “There are protocols to follow in this case: contact the teacher in charge, who must receive the family. It then goes back to the director, then to the district manager. You can call 3020 (free number which allows you to report a situation of harassment), which will contact the local harassment representatives so that they can contact the family.
Nora Tirane Fraisse says she is “surprised” by the proposals reported by the parents of the two little girls. “We cannot tell a child to come to class later or to avoid the canteen. In bullying, there are six places at risk: the playground, the classroom, the way to school, etc. If I confine a child to a classroom, what about the toilets or the corridors? This is not the solution, she insists. It is necessary to develop positive interactions, see if there has been contact with the Harassment Resource team attached to the establishment, if there are student ambassadors to support children in suffering, if the accused student harassment was taken care of so that he stopped his behavior, etc. »
Friday March 24, Garance and Marlène finally learned that the student was going to change schools, without knowing why.
#called #vermin #Raincy #ordeal #CM2 #students #harassed #child
