“It’s a collective failure,” regretted the Minister of Education. Pap Ndiaye spoke this Thursday on BFMTV on the suicide of Lindsay, 13, who killed himself after being the victim of school harassment.
“Obviously, this is a collective failure, the death of Lindsay, her suicide, it is a tragedy for her loved ones, for National Education and for the country, as for the suicide of n’ any young person, ”testified Pap Ndiaye Thursday evening, a few hours after the family of the teenager announced that they had filed a complaint in particular against the rectorate and Facebook.
The responsibility of social networks
“If everyone had done their job to protect Lindsay, she would be alive. The teenager’s family announced on Thursday that they had filed a complaint, in particular against the rectorate and Facebook. Three complaints have been filed against the management of the college, the Lille academy and the police officers in charge of the investigation for “non-assistance to anyone in danger”, detailed the family lawyer, Me Pierre Debuisson, during of a press conference in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais), where the schoolgirl, who committed suicide on May 12, was educated.
A fourth targets the social network Facebook “completely failing” in terms of content moderation and the fight against “hate speech”, according to the lawyer, denouncing the continued harassment against Lindsay, in particular on Instagram. For Pap Ndiaye, social networks “have their share of responsibility”. According to him, it is necessary to “put them under more accentuated pressure”. “With other ministries, we are going to consult and act extremely firmly with regard to social networks because beyond what they can say, we know that their reaction is too slow”, he said. hammered.
Four minors charged
The minister also claimed to follow Lindsay’s suicide file “personally”. Citing the judicial and administrative investigation, he assured to draw “all the conclusions with regard to the personnel if necessary and especially the general conclusions on the way in which we can move forward”.
Four minors have been indicted in this case for “school harassment leading to suicide”, as part of a judicial investigation, the public prosecutor of Béthune announced on May 25. A major person was indicted for “death threats”. All were placed under judicial control.
” I could not any more “
The family lawyer read a letter written by the young girl several months before her suicide, communicated, he underlined, to the academy, to the college and to the police. “If you are reading this letter, it means that I have surely left (…) I could no longer take the insults morning and evening, mockery, threats (…) despite everything that happened, they will always want me badly “, had written the schoolgirl there. “If we had been helped, if we had been supported, I’m sure my daughter would be among us,” said her mother, Betty.
“I tried everything, I did everything, we weren’t helped, we were let go, completely, no support, neither before, nor during, nor after,” she lambasted.
Strengthening the fight against harassment
The rectorate of Lille had announced last week the opening of an administrative investigation, conceding that the school services could have “Go further in the follow-up” of the young girl. The teenager, educated in 4th grade at Bracke-Desrousseau college, killed herself on May 12 in the evening at her home.
Pap Ndiaye announced a “strengthening of the anti-harassment unit”. Referring to the toll-free numbers on cyberbullying (3018) and bullying at school (3020), he explained that “the resources allocated to them will be increased to recruit more psychologists, social network experts and listeners”.