France: deputies examine a new offense of school bullying

In France, nearly one in ten students would be affected each year by school bullying which can push the victim to end his life.

Wikicommons / CC BY 3.0 / Diego Grez

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

This Wednesday, December 1, the National Assembly began examining a bill against bullying at school.

To fight against this social phenomenon, the deputies could even vote for a new offense punishing more severely the authors.

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These days, when a child is bullied in school, his or her family often feels helpless.

She can alert the management of the establishment, but must lodge a complaint alone or with the help of associations.

If the specific offense of school bullying is voted on, there will be a criminal sanction against the perpetrators.

The text provides for penalties of up to 3 years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.

And if the violence is particularly serious, especially if there is a suicide attempt on the part of the victim, the penalty is toughened and can go up to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros for the stalker.

Strengthen prevention 

In addition to penalizing bullying at school, the bill provides for strengthening the prevention of such violence, with emphasis on the training of adults in schools.

This is what makes the author of the text, the deputy MoDem Erwan Balanant, say that the idea is not to criminalize the students, but to raise awareness of the seriousness of the consequences of bullying at school.

In France, nearly one in ten students would be the victim of bullying at school.

In October, the whole country was moved by the suicide of Dinah, a 14-year-old girl.

School bullying, these sixth grade students know exactly what they know.

Blonde braids coming out of the cap, Émilie was a victim ...

Testimonials from some college students on school bullying

Laurence Théault

Bullying at school is an old phenomenon, but it has been clearly aggravated by the development of new information and communication technologies, often passing under the radar of parents and adults.

While a number of initiatives have been carried out in recent years including the creation of emergency assistance numbers, Emmanuel Macron announced the launch of an application to help victims of cyberstalking, strengthening parental controls or the multiplication of places where young people can listen.

► To read also: One in five teenagers victim of cyber-harassment in France

The divided political class

However, the creation of a specific offense of school bullying could not obtain a unanimous vote in the hemicycle, where 130 amendments are on the menu. "

 " lamented Michèle Victory (PS) during the examination in committee.

" 

" for the offense of moral harassment, recognizes Erwan Balanant.

But the new " 

" will also, according to him, force digital platforms to integrate the obligation to moderate the content of bullying.

The bill also includes the right to “ 

 ” in private establishments and higher education.

For their part, LR deputies are delighted with a bill they were waiting for.

As for the Communist deputy Elsa Faucillon, she pleaded for the bill to reimburse the costs related to the medical and psychological support of victims and those responsible for harassment.

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