• For the first time in France, hundreds of young people received this Thursday a patent to fight against sexism.

  • Seine-Saint-Denis intends to encourage other departments to follow the same approach and calls on National Education to include the fight against sexism in the school curriculum.

The Le Méliès cinema hall was packed this Thursday in Montreuil.

On stage, 9th graders from 15 colleges in Seine-Saint-Denis came to present their video, slam piece, or interactive theater piece with the aim of combating sexism.

“Slamming on stage, it helps to free oneself and it gives self-confidence.

And then, it's easier to talk to other young people,” says Rosaire.

The teenager specifies that the whole thing was to “build the story around what we experienced”.

She launches into her slam: “For fear of judgment, we don’t dress freely / She got up, she won.

For these young people, expressing themselves through a video, rhymes or using humor has therefore made it possible to denounce gender stereotypes and deliver a message of hope.

"These young people who are stigmatized are pioneers"

All are 14, 15 years old and already have many testimonies in mind.

The rape of a sister, the cyberbullying of a friend, the intra-family violence suffered by another… One of the budding slammers did not manage to hold back her tears when she left the stage.

“Each creation is inspired by a personal story.

We are there to listen to the students and direct them to professionals if necessary,” explains Diariata N'Diaye, an “artivist” as she likes to define herself.

Its goal is to raise awareness of gender-based and sexual violence through art.

The activist is one of the speakers who have guided the students so far.

"She is a great listener and that's why young people talk," says Ernestine Ronai, director of the Departmental Observatory of Violence Against Women and pioneer in the fight against feminicide in France.

For the boys too, the moment is intense and they take pleasure in playing with clichés, paradoxical injunctions and prejudices.

“These young people who are stigmatized are pioneers,” says Pascale Labbé, vice-president of the department in charge of gender equality.

A fight that must be carried out "from an early age"

Comes the moment of the delivery of the patent.

And on the side of the department, the approach is also political: “We want to send a message to the Ministry of National Education.

We want this patent to be the first in a long series, like the Observatory of violence against women, launches Stéphane Troussel, president of the departmental council.

It is not enough to talk about a great national cause, actions are needed.

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At the end, everyone holds up their diploma.

A piece of paper that has become the symbol of a struggle "that must be waged from an early age", recalls Pascale Labbé.

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The initiative against sexism in a few figures

This Thursday marked the 13th edition of the Seine-Saint-Denis youth initiative against sexism.

This year, 29 establishments in the department took part in the educational program out of a total of 130. Thus, more than 900 young people from 12 establishments received their diploma in the fight against sexism.

To obtain it, it was necessary to obtain the note of 15/20 during a MCQ (multiple choice question) proposed to the pupils at the beginning of May.

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