It was distributed to all students in the school. From the 6th to the 3rd, all the girls and boys of the Duguay-Trouin college in Saint-Malo received the small document of about twenty pages. Behind its beautifully illustrated green cover, this guide edited by the departmental council of Ille-et-Vilaine does not hide his intentions. “The rules, and if we talk about it? is a real educational tool aimed at informing both girls and boys about menstruation. The objective: To remove taboos and break prejudices around menstruation. “The rules are not shameful, they are not dirty”, can we read in the colorful book. Just a reminder? Rather a background work to allow teenagers to better understand the issue. And to avoid giggling at the slightest mention of the monthly ritual undergone by all the girls.
The idea for this guide had germinated several years ago when the first installations of sanitary protection dispensers had started in the Bretillian colleges. “The request for dispensers had been made by students from several establishments, but we didn’t want to settle for a simple device. We wanted to lift the taboo, so that the subject becomes normal, so that everyone can talk about it,” explains Pauline Salaün, project manager for gender equality. To design the booklet, the department’s teams met with several classes in order to measure the level of information of the teenagers and to adapt the content. And it is clear that not everyone is in the same boat. “There are girls who already have all the answers, because they have spoken to their parents or with their girlfriends. But this is not the case for everyone, ”says Anne Mainguet-Grall, departmental adviser in charge of women’s rights. “I looked at the guide at home, I found that it was well done. I learned about the existence of cups for women, I didn’t know about it, ”explains Allena, a 4th grade student in Duguay-Trouin.
There are the boys too, who often sin by immaturity to face the subject. “Sometimes we have little jokes. But the reality is that we don’t talk seriously about sexuality. Me, I don’t want to talk about it with my friends, it’s my private life, ”assumes Noé. Aged 12, the 4th grader is lucky enough to be able to “ask all the questions” to his parents, whom he describes as “very open”. But we still feel a little embarrassment when discussing the issue of menstruation. Teenage girls are well aware of the problem but still struggle to speak out on this subject, even between girlfriends. “In 6th grade, when we had to go to the swimming pool, I said that I had forgotten my bag. I didn’t want to explain myself,” recalls Ninog, now in 4th grade. She wasn’t the only one. According to a study, half of teenagers have already missed school because of their periods. And one in three girls has already been teased.
Parents and “Girl Problems”
In college, the question of the swimming pool is very often approached with awkwardness by the parents, who try to “excuse” the absence of their child from the session for “problems with girls”. “But talking about rules finally, it’s not a bad word”, launches Sylvie Piéjus. Deputy principal of the Saint-Malo establishment, she was one of the first to demand the installation of periodic protection distributors in her college. At the end of the year, 68 colleges in Ille-et-Vilaine should have them.
This little white box has already saved the day of many teenage girls, surprised to see their periods arrive without warning, sometimes for the first time. A first that can sometimes turn into a nightmare in the event of ridicule, potentially leaving an indelible psychological scar. “We have to fight against this taboo of the rules. I have the impression that there is better, that the students talk about it at home. But speech is not as free in all families. The college is there to talk about it. The girls should not be embarrassed”, continues the deputy headmaster.
Installed in a hallway located near school life, the distributor has become “commonplace” in the establishment. But to hear the students, some are still reluctant to go there. “It’s a bit awkward doing this in front of everyone, it’s still intimate,” says Ninog. The girls use more the one located in the upstairs toilets, but which had to disappear. Decided two years ago, the question of the establishment of the distributor should again be discussed. It is clear that there is still a long way to go.