The Ministry of National Education and Youth has decided to make the fight against school bullying its priority for the start of the 2023 school year, in particular by offering an awareness hour at the university. Will this be enough to fight this scourge?
A tense end of the school year
A month after the suicide of 13-year-old Lindsay, a student who was bullied at school in Pas-de-Calais, the Minister of National Education and Youth, Pap Ndiaye, announced an hour of awareness in all French colleges, starting this week. This decision was accompanied by the announcement of a reinforcement of fight against school bullying at the start of the school year in September 2023.
The anti-harassment groups are laughing out loud because the timing of these announcements is bad, 3 weeks from the end of the course, and the action taken is insufficient. School bullying affects, according to Depp surveys (Department of evaluation, forecasting and performance), 5.6% of middle school students, 2.6% of CM1-CM2 and 1.3% of school students superior. Students’ access to smartphones and social networks and the emergence of cyberbullying have further amplified this phenomenon. Associations that fight against school bullying even think that Depp’s figures are underestimated.
Is the involvement of schools enough?
Joanna Dagorn, a researcher associated with the LACES laboratory of the University of Bordeaux, was ten years ago a member of the ministerial delegation in charge of preventing and combating violence in schools. ” At the time, France was just beginning to take the issue of bullying seriously, in particular in 2012 we set up the toll-free number “. But in a decade, have the strategies implemented in schools been enough?
” It’s never enough, we can always do better explains the researcher. ” What is missing is the training of the educational community as a whole in detecting weak signals. Not only teachers, but also non-pedagogical staff and parents of students. Students notice bullying, but adults don’t see it unless they’re trained to detect the weak cues. »
Among these signs we can find dropping out of school, isolation, withdrawal, refusal to go to class, damaged or lost objects or even aggressive behavior. A bullied child may become impudent himself and thus go under the radar. ” By knowing these signs, you increase your chances of being able to detect harassment upstream. This doesn’t stop us from doing prevention for other students. »
For Nicholas Sacagiupresident of the association Speak I’m listeningfor the action of the schools to be effective, they should get in touch with the associations that fight against school bullying.
” As long as every actor stays in his corner, we can’t move forward. Charities need schools to help victims return to school in good condition. But we also need them to send us bullying children and their parents, who we can also accompany. Furthermore, child victims or witnesses do not dare to confide in their teachers, or with contacts within the institution, for fear of reprisals. And we cannot ask teachers, unprepared and powerless in the face of these situations, to take charge of them. Pupils therefore need a point of reference outside the school, to be able to express themselves. »
Second Catherine Jacquetvice president of the association Marion with outstretched hand, it must also be ensured that there is a link between school, extracurricular and sports facilities, because bullying does not stop at school. ” There is a need to bring together teachers, entertainers and sports animators and train them in psychosocial skills. »
Emmanuelle Piquet, psychotherapist in brief and strategic therapy according to the Palo Alto School, and member of the À 180 Degrés group, observes that the educational teams are not satisfied with what National Education offers.
Rather, it suggests “train and supervise two volunteer referents clearly identified by the college, for 10 days, with a dozen colleagues from other structures”because short courses are insufficient and therefore ineffective, and not all teachers want to be trained in this subject.
Do parents have a vital role to play?
Joanna Dagorn brings up an important point:
” Most bullies don’t realize the consequences of their actionsthey do it for fun. In terms of statistics, children who bully on purpose to hurt are very residual. And nothing can be done about them. »
The Speak, I’m listening association proposes awareness initiatives for bullying children, in order to make them aware of the seriousness of their act. ” You also need to understand why they do it, there’s always a reason, but it’s not related to the victim. The child who bullies often also suffers greatly : parental divorce, death of a parent, mistreatment, intra-family violence or even abuse. explains Nicole Sacagiu.
Parents therefore have an essential role to play, particularly in inculcating respect for others by setting an example. “Harassment has always existed,” explains Joanna Dagorn. ” There is just to see The War of the Buttonsit is very violent, but we accepted this harassment. From now on, we no longer accept that society works by martyring some people, it doesn’t matter if it’s for fun or without bad intentions. Since March 2022, harassment has been a crime and the sanction incurred is related to the state of health of the victim, not to the intentionality of the aggressor “.
Nicole Sacagiu also notes the crucial role of parents:
” Let’s sensitize parents, why the first time a child is bullied, they always open up. But as parents, let’s downplay it, we think it’s a petty squabble. The child does not feel understood and sinks into silence. This moment is therefore fundamental, you have to take them seriously, tell them that you believe them, that you trust them. Then take action with the school and regularly insist on having an inventory of what has been put in place, contact the academy if necessary and insist again there. And especially, everything must be done to maintain a bond with the childtake 5 minutes of quality time each night to play with him and question him about his day, observe his behavior, even his arms, because many children scarify. »
Emmanuelle Piquet, however, disagrees:
” Involvement of parents of bullied children would no longer be effective. Sanction, morality, and peer mediation have not shown conclusive results. It is very difficult to mobilize an individual who fundamentally does not want change towards change.. It is more effective to give the bullied child tools of verbal and behavioral resistance, so that he can change the side of the discomfort, so that the bully no longer wants to attack him, for fear of losing popularity. “.
How can we become effective in this struggle as parents?
Prevention and detection, by adults, are essential to avoid school bullying situations. For Joanna Dagorn, the two important action points for parents are thereforelearn to detect the weak signals of bullied children. But also to educate their children from an early age respect for othersin a civic approach.
” Children are pitted against each other from an early age, with a lot of pressure, and bullying can serve as an outlet. Many parents put their children in competition without instilling in them respect for others and human values. »
The fight against school bullying therefore begins in early childhood, teaching children not to tease, and that their actions, words and gestures have consequences. You also need to stay alert to your child’s emotions so that he can speak freely. ” You also need to talk to him about harassment, without scaring him, especially encouraging him to speak up if he witnesses harassment. “, advises Catherine Jacquet.
Finally it is important not to be left alone, whether your child is a victim or an aggressor, you must ask for help, contact the associations. ” It comes as a shock to a parent to know that his child is bullying another. “, explains Nicole Sacagiu. “These parents often deny, it is difficult to understand and accept, trained personnel are needed to explain the situation to them and offer them therapeutic support. “, adds, for her part, Catherine Jacquet. The Marion la main tendue association offers free therapeutic support to children and their parents.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
