In France, school bullying has been recognized as an offense since law no. 2022-299 of March 2, 2022 aimed at combating school bullying. This law defines school harassment as “acts of harassment resulting from repeated comments or behavior of a degrading, humiliating or intimidating nature, having as their object or effect a deterioration of a student's school life conditions”.
School bullying can take different forms, including :
Physical violence, such as beatings, injuries or sexual assault ;
Verbal violence, such as insults, threats or mockery ;
Social violence, such as isolation, boycott or the spread of rumors ;
Digital violence, such as cyberbullying.
School bullying can have serious consequences on the victim, both physically and psychologically. It can lead to problems sleeping, eating, anxiety, depression, and even suicide.
The 2022 law provides for strengthening measures to prevent and combat school bullying. In particular, it requires :
Training of all national education personnel in the prevention and fight against school bullying ;
The establishment of a harassment representative in each school establishment ;
The creation of a single national telephone number, 3020, to report incidents of school bullying.
The law also provides for more severe sanctions for perpetrators of school harassment. The penalties incurred are now three years' imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros when he has caused total incapacity for work of less than or equal to eight days, and ten years' imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros. fine when it caused total incapacity for work for more than eight days, or resulted in the death of the victim.
The 2022 law is important progress in the fight against school bullying. It aims to better protect victims and deter perpetrators of these acts.