what do we know from the investigation

A week after Lucas’ death, 13 year old Golbey schoolboy who committed suicide
January 7th emotion, still very present
will gradually give way to investigation. His funeral took place privately. at the Epinals this Saturday. A white march will also take place “in the coming weeks”, the family’s attorney said. The teenager who ended his life was harassed on campus because he was homosexual, relatives said. An investigation should be opened by the Epinal prosecutor’s office determine the exact relationship between Lucas’ moves and the abuse
.

Beyond the emotions it evoked, Lucas’ death also raises questions eradicating bullying in the school environment. The bill should also see the light of day by the end of January. We explain to you what you need to know about this file and the announced plans.

The link to bullying and homophobia

For Lucas’ mother, there was no room for doubt. This is harassment because of his homosexuality which led his son Lucas, 13, who was educated at Louis-Armand University in Golbey, to commit suicide. The teen mother was due to be heard by Epinal prosecutors on Monday, but her lawyer Catherine Faivre confirmed it was Friday. “Adolescent sexual orientation is known and assumed, as a 13 year old boy can assume”.

Relatives revealed in their hearing the taunts and homophobic insults that the teenager said he was the victim of other students at his college in Golbey, public prosecutor Epinal said on Friday. . The facts have been reported, but no complaints were filed and “There have been no recent investigations into harassment at this college” according to him.

For Epinal’s prosecutor, Frédéric Nahon, it is causal question arising and which must be disclosed by the investigation opened by the prosecutor. In a press conference on Friday, prosecutors clarified that Lucas wrote in his diary “his wish to end his life”, the teenager did not clearly state that it had anything to do with the harassment that was the object of it. For prosecutors, it will also be necessary to determine whether abuse reported at the beginning of the year to the establishment continues months later. Finally, it is also important to check if Lucas is a victim of cyberbullying, for example on social networks.

Regarding the cause of death, “the findings and the autopsy conducted by the Nancy forensic institute have made it possible to establish the thesis of suicide by hanging”, also shown by the judge.

national education responsibility

What is at stake here too is how schools, the national education system, and everyone involved in the reporting chain pick up on the facts of abuse. Attorney Epinal will do it verify the actions taken by the company Golbey, because the facts have been reported. According to the chancellor, the “teasing” that Lucas and his mother reported at the start of the school year was “taken seriously by the college teame”.

Louis Armand College, which has 697 students, is committed to pHARE device
to combat harassment. Teachers are trained and students are sensitive.

Starting Monday January 9, a psychological cell established for students and teachers. “There’s a lot of emotion among adults who haven’t seen anything, who haven’t seen Lucas get bad lately. “, insisted the academic director interviewed by France Bleu Sud Lorraine
.

“Discrimination and harassment rarely is one child dealing with another child. It is a group that will face one child, so witnesses and adults around have responsibility”, underlined this Saturday morning in franceinfo Charlotte Cabel, Secretary of State in charge of Childhood. He revealed it “emotion” after Lucas’ death, with thoughts of “family, peers, educational team”.

Today is violent “in all areas of society”said Charlotte Cabel. “Obviously the homophobic discrimination Lucas experiences, not kids know it themselves, they hear it from adults. A child with a child, in the beginning, he’s kind”, he assured, insisting on the importance of the stakes “education”.

Ways to fight school bullying

One in ten children is affected by bullying at school in France. To combat this scourge, exist multiple devices
to fight this scourge. 3020 is a free phone number that offers listening and advice. 3020 can be reached Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The person answering the phone is a psychologist or educational science professional.

3018 is meant to fight cyberbullying. It can also fight bullying that goes beyond the framework of the school. Other tools like the 3018 app or the Hummingbird app offer space for listening and reporting.

abuse is considered a crime
since February 2022 and is punishable by two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to 150,000 euros.

Slow steps materialized

Minister of National Education, and several members of the government have express their emotions this week.
“No child should end up committing suicide “, wrote National Education Minister Pap N’Diaye on Twitter. His death was “unsupportable” also commented this Friday, Isabelle Rome, Delegate Minister, responsible for gender equality
, diversity and equal opportunity, guest from France Bleu Gironde. At the end of the month, a national control plan against racism, anti-Semitism and the fight against discrimination will be presented by the government.

But for the affected families and associations, things didn’t go fast enough. Nora Fraisse, Marion’s mother who committed suicide ten years ago, condemns immobility and a call for real means and real policies to fight this scourge : “Bblabla, I can’t take it anymore”, he denounced Friday on the Franceinfo antenna
.

A white march will be organized in the coming weeks by the family. In the meantime, he asked for the utmost privacy for the schoolboy’s funeral which took place this Saturday at Epinal.