Sexual assault on the Saclay plateau: how do the campuses react?

Louise Salle edited by Wassila Belhacine 07:28, April 29, 2022

REPORT

Thanks to internal investigations - recently carried out by Polytechnique and Centrale-Supélec - we now know the extent of the sexual violence committed on the Saclay plateau.

Thus, at Polytechnique, one in four students has, for example, been the victim of a sexual assault during her schooling. 

"I arrived very drunk at the party, and a boy from my promotion found me alone", begins Léa *, in her twenties, and former student of Polytechnique.

“He isolated me and made me drink even more. And then he kissed me for a very long time, when I was too drunk to react or give real consent …”, continues the young woman.

"Even if my eyes said no, I couldn't verbalize this no".

Léa* recently graduated from Polytechnique.

But the trauma remained. 

>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here

Volunteers to monitor festive events 

Today, the students are determined that this kind of situation does not happen again.

Of themselves, therefore, they organize themselves.

At Centrale, for example, some have been volunteering since this winter to monitor festive events and intervene if necessary.

They are called “staffeurs”: they are members of a school association, Ça weighs, committed against sexist and sexual violence.

This Thursday evening, at 11 p.m., it is Gauthier's turn to take on this role for the school evening.

He waits wisely away from the room, white armband clearly visible on his burgundy sweater. 

He stands ready to listen to anyone who wishes to testify to a sexual assault, or to protect any student who feels in danger.

"There, we are a little away from the main stage, in a rather quiet place," he describes.

"People can come see us without any problem, and confide in us."

>> READ ALSO - 

Sexual assault: CentraleSupélec in shock after an alarming investigation

A little later, Gauthier took over another post of "staffeur": this post was called the "volante".

He weaves his way through the revelers, and his eyes never leave the dance floor.

“It is at the level of the main stage that there are the most people”, he specifies.

"It is therefore the place where we will be most present, to monitor that everything is going well and that there is no abnormal behavior."

Gauthier does this work on a voluntary basis.

And there is one rule: no alcohol during the evening. 

Drafting of a charter by the students of Centrale-Supélec

But the students of Centrale-Supélec are no exception.

Inter-school meetings are currently being organized between the associations of the various establishments on the Saclay plateau, so that all adopt a common charter, with very concrete measures to be applied like these "staffers" in the evening.

>> READ ALSO -

 Nightclub bites: after numerous complaints, where are the investigations?

For the student drafters of the charter, it is very important to harmonize all the initiatives that are being put in place.

"We have many parties in common, so it's relevant to deploy the same devices", explains Clémence, a student at Centrale, integrated into the document's writing group.

“It is also to push certain establishments which are not moving very quickly to introduce new measures”, she continues. 

Towards an agreement between justice and the Grandes Ecoles of the Saclay plateau

The campuses are also being transformed thanks to the school principals, ready to work hand in hand with the justice system.

The prosecutor of Evry, Caroline Nisand, for example, intervened at Centrale-Supélec this fall to explain, in front of an amphitheater of first-year students, what is rape, what is sexual assault, what are the penalties incurred and how to file a complaint.

She would like to repeat this operation every year and get closer to the campuses to speed up the investigation procedures: "I plan to formalize an agreement with the Grandes Ecoles of the Saclay plateau, to formalize the transmission of information and reports from establishments" , she announces at the microphone of Europe 1. 

>> READ ALSO - 

Sexual violence: young demonstrators (already) mobilized to say stop

"The situation of the Saclay plateau is particular, we still have a large group of schools, which deserves to be taken into account in a specific way by the justice", she underlines.

Since this winter, complaints have been pouring into his office and it's all new.

"The law of silence has obviously been breached and that's a good thing," continues the prosecutor of Evry.

"Strengthening the means to free speech"

School principals know that they have a role to play in freeing the voices of victims.

At Polytechnique, for example, it's been a short time since a soldier has been in charge of listening to victims.

François Bouchet, general manager of the establishment, admits that we must act differently.

“The victims preferred to open up to their close entourage rather than to something that is perceived as an emanation from the hierarchy, from management,” he concedes.

“Less than one out of two cases declared in the anonymous survey had been brought to our attention. Following this, we say to ourselves that we really need to strengthen the means to free speech, perhaps by resorting to communication devices. listening", says François Boucher.

>> READ ALSO - 

Sexual violence in the Church: what do the victims of the Sauvé report hope for?

Investigations revealing the extent of sexual assaults therefore acted as an electric shock.

It remains to be seen whether the new measures will have an impact on the next anonymous questionnaires, now collected every year.

*The first name has been changed to preserve the anonymity of the person.