Charlotte does not want to mention her full name to protect the identity of her 4-year-old son. In early April, the child confided in her that a teacher's assistant named Ryan had sexually abused him. This happened at his primary school "Gustave Bienveteu" in the Paris suburb of Colombes.
"At first I thought I had misunderstood - it seemed unimaginable that this could happen to my son. When I finally realized what had happened, it was like the sky had fallen on me," she told DW.
Charlotte and her husband notified the school and the city hall about what had happened, and the assistant teacher was suspended almost immediately.
Are the authorities reacting too slowly?
But other measures were not taken quickly enough, Charlotte said. "By law, the city hall should have notified the prosecutor's office immediately, but it took two weeks to do so," she said, adding that other families at the school should have been informed quickly as well.
"Since that didn't happen, we filed a sexual assault complaint and told the other parents what had happened," Charlotte said.
Two other families have filed complaints against Ryan: one – for exhibitionism, as their son claims to have witnessed the incident with Charlotte's son. A second child has also said that he was sexually assaulted by the teacher in question.
The municipality refutes Charlotte's claims that the prosecutor's office was not notified in time. In an email to DW, it says that this happened "after some time, necessary to prepare a report that is written in a fair and precise manner". The municipality also assures that the affected families have been provided with support.
Ann is a co-founder of the SOS Periscolaires project, which collects information about cases of physical and sexual abuse of children in kindergartens and primary schools. She tells DW that the authorities in France are often slow to react. "This is a recurring pattern that we have observed in many of the more than 500 cases of sexual or physical abuse that we have registered since our founding in 2021."
Deep-rooted problems in the system
Anne believes that the childcare sector in France has become a "playground for abusers" because it is so easy to find work there. "Non-teaching staff are managed by the city hall or by an external company, while workers who are in charge of children, for example in playgrounds, do not need training and are not checked for criminal records," she explains. Moreover, the pay is so poor that it is difficult to attract qualified staff.
Jean-Michel Bocquet, a professor of education at the Sorbonne and the Catholic University of Paris, claims that when the city councils were responsible for this, assistant teachers underwent a four-week training course originally designed for summer camp assistants. "In any case, according to our study, the preferred profile for this job is a man with authority and a sense of humor, not an empathetic woman. This increases the likelihood of hiring sexual abusers," Bocquet told DW.
Jérôme Camus, a sociologist at the University of Tours in central France, points to one of the reasons: "The 2013 education reform shortened the length of the school day, i.e. the hours, and extended the free time at school afterwards. "Now we need 2 million assistant teachers instead of 1 million," he points out.
Until the 1980s, free time at school was also a time for cultural activities. "Today, in free time, non-teaching staff only have to observe the children, that is, they hardly need to have any qualifications", Camus also told DW.
The abuse cases in Paris have become leading news
DW learned from the Paris prosecutor's office that reports of sexual assault by non-teaching staff are multiplying and now exceed 100. Several lawsuits are currently underway.
The new mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, elected in March, recently confirmed that more than 130 assistant teachers, mainly working in playgrounds, have been suspended since the beginning of this year. 52 of them - for alleged sexual abuse. He also announced a €20 million action plan, including a thorough audit of the current system, better training and background checks for non-teaching staff, a more effective whistleblowing system and better support for affected families.
The new measures are due to come into force this autumn
At the national level, a number of bills are being considered or will soon be introduced in parliament, which mainly focus on strengthening background checks on candidates.
"People working with children should be checked through a national register to make sure that none of them have been investigated or found guilty of child abuse," Sylvain Maillard, a member of parliament from the ruling "Renaissance" party, told DW.
Should the system be changed?
Sorbonne professor Jean-Michel Bocquet, however, doubts that the measures will be far-reaching enough. "Even the Paris plan is too vague. Non-teaching staff need in-depth training to be able to detect when colleagues are showing inappropriate tendencies," he emphasizes. He also said that extensive national training programmes should be introduced. "And we need to create a safe space in every institution where children can talk."
Charlotte also believes that the system needs urgent change. "Teachers' assistants should be paid adequately and always work in pairs when supervising children. And the authorities should install cameras in school corridors to monitor what is happening there." She is appealing to parents to be better informed about how to spot possible signs of abuse.
As for the sexual assault of her 4-year-old son, the case is due to be heard in the coming months.
Author: Lisa Lewis