“Can someone tell me what harassment is?” », the local police chief asks in the preamble. Hands are raised, and the answers set from point to point complement each other: the notion of repetition, physical, verbal and/or psychological violence often with a group effect, which can also happen on the Internet. “If you like a harasser’s post on social media, can you be prosecuted? » Answer: yes, the law does not distinguish between active and passive spectators.
If you like a harasser’s post on social media, can you be prosecuted?
Young people also discovered the behind-the-scenes legal process that can be initiated by filing a lawsuit or reporting the school to the state attorney general. In both options, it is the judge who decides whether or not to open an investigation. In this case, the police interrogate the alleged abusers and witnesses. It is even possible to order police custody from the age of 13, when a person becomes criminally responsible.
A video by web cameraman HugoDécrypte, which brings together victims and perpetrators of school violence, was then shown before the final discussion, where students were completely free to ask their questions. The same operation was carried out this Thursday with the second-year students of the Jean-Monnet high school, and since the beginning of the year with all the sixth-year classes at the three colleges in Cognac.
“This makes it possible to strengthen the ties between schools and the policenotes Guillaume Toullier. From December, a young woman will join our service in the civil service for eight months. She will be on call at all the schools for Cognac to talk to young people. For example, harassment, consent and domestic violence. »