At eight, one in three
They are between 8 and 11. 11,200 of them answered the education ministry: one primary pupil in three says they have suffered at least one form of sexual violence at school. The youngest are the most affected.
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A third-grader is eight years old. They are learning their times tables and losing their last milk teeth. Four in ten say they have suffered a form of sexual violence at school. The education ministry questioned 11,200 pupils from third to fifth grade about the 2024-2025 school year: a third report at least one form of sexual violence, mostly attempts at a forced kiss or someone watching them in the toilets. Two in ten, 22%, say someone tried to kiss or touch them.
The youngest first
Blows, too, land first on the youngest. 35% of third-graders say they have been hit, 27% of fifth-graders. The survey does not give the age of the perpetrators, and girls and boys report being affected in similar proportions. These are children’s words, collected by questionnaire, and that is their strength: nobody spoke in their place.
Children’s words
Three years earlier, the first national survey on bullying counted 5% of primary pupils bullied. It was not measuring the same thing. The question, though, has not changed. Who listens to an eight-year-old when they raise their hand?
Based on Éducation nationale and HugoDécrypte