Since at least 2018, one of the philosophy professors at Bordeaux Montaigne University has carved out a poor reputation among students in the department. About ten of them, from different promotions, evokes a teacher, who was also vice-president of the university in 2020, who imposes an embarrassing proximity. Remarks on their physical appearance, sexist allusions or sexual connotations punctuate her lessons, such as “she knows it, she is beautiful” or salacious digressions during a lesson on “romantic relationships”. confides Sarah, a former student.
After philosophy teacher-researcher Barbara Stiegler filed a rape complaint against this professor, on June 20, 2022, students dared to come forward to the “Stop Violence” cell from Bordeaux Montaigne University and one of them filed a complaint for harassment.
Rape complaint triggers wave of reports
“There are acts of harassment and attacks,” explains Annie Carrareto, co-president of family planning in Gironde, who accompanied the victims. When someone caresses your hair and body without permission, I call it assault.” She highlights the ascendancy of the professor, who was also director of UFR and director of a laboratory: “He put his hold on both the students and his circle of power at the university.”
After an explanation about a bad grade, he suggests to Sarah that if she had not listened to herself so much after an attack, she would have had much better results in her master’s degree in philosophy. She bursts into tears and comes to apologize to him, with a tear in her eye, but all smiles: “He scared me, he reminded me of the psychopathic old man who attacked me,” says the young woman. , now an architecture student. He was capable of being light and at the same time getting very deep into your head, to manipulate you.” Some time after this scene, in 2019, she will report these facts to administrative officials who remain “amorphous”. And at the end of 2021, she filed a report with the university unit which also remained a dead letter.
“Students towards whom the incriminated professor had problematic attitudes were afraid of reprisals,” says a teacher at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne who wishes to remain anonymous. There was even blackmail involved. The Barbara Stiegler affair, whose existence quickly became known to students in the philosophy department, opened the way for people to speak out. »
The effectiveness of the Stop Violence unit called into question
Around ten students filed reports with this unit but nothing happened. “They turned to Ella’s house for listening and psychological support since there had been none from the university,” explains Annie Carrareto. We accompanied the ten victims together.”
The president of the university, in a press release made public on October 24, 2023 however, assures “that the situation was taken with the greatest seriousness by the reporting unit, but also by the university presidency. The testimonies of all the people who came forward were also considered, once they reached the cell. »
On March 8, 2022, Barbara Stiegler herself informed the Bordeaux Montaigne stop violence unit of the fact that students wanted to testify. The University was therefore informed of the existence of around ten complaints. Before her attack in May 2020, the teacher-researcher was friends with this professor and no one had informed her of his inappropriate behavior towards students. “I discovered all this later, when I confided my distress and my dismay to my closest colleagues, because the university had abandoned me and did nothing following my report,” explains Barbara Stiegler at 20 minutes. It was at that moment that tongues were loosened. »
On the facts that concern her, the teacher specifies that she informed her superiors in December 2021. “Nothing happens afterwards, only one meal is canceled,” she is indignant. It’s incomprehensible to me that two years later, we’re still fighting.” She says that they first tried to discredit her testimony, suggesting that she was inventing a story, to which she was trying to involve students. “They tried at all costs to make it a private story, between the professor and Barbara,” confirms Annie Carrareto.
Waiting for a disciplinary council on all matters
A disciplinary council for the teacher in question was relocated to Toulouse, but the people summoned would only be in the context of the case of Barbara Stiegler. The University denies this information, ensuring that it has: “formally drawn the attention of the disciplinary section to all reports”. However, the hearing of the victims who seized the cell does not seem to be on the agenda of this commission.
“Our fight is to ensure that the students’ words are taken into account, but the disciplinary section has only been informed of the case of Barbara Stiegler,” declares one of the department’s professors. We are requesting an additional referral which includes all the students’ testimonies.” The decision of the disciplinary commission should be known in the coming months.
“The teacher was suspended as a precautionary measure. His classes are all in the second semester, but legally, he returned to the philosophy department last week,” says a professor. Some victims, disgusted, left the university and certain professors, who taught courses to support the regular team, also chose to leave to teach elsewhere. “The cell has the duty to support the victims, to listen to them, to offer them care and to protect them from an author who was present on the scene,” insists Annie Carrareto.
Requested by 20 minutes, the accused person’s lawyer did not respond to his appeal.