A little boy chased up the stairs by his father, whose cry can be heard after receiving a correction. In the next picture, the child has grown up and becomes a father himself, with the fear of repeating the actions he suffered. “We can always turn our backs on heritage,” he says, determined to break this chain of common educational violence (EOV).
This scenario is the one from heritage, A 30-second film that will be broadcast from this Monday on several channels (TF1, France TV, LCP, Canal +, etc.). Produced by the Stop VEO association and the Publicis agency, it is broadcast in the run-up to the International Day of Non-Violence in Education, which takes place this Tuesday. “It is important to raise awareness of this topic among the French, especially since 79% of parents admit to having committed VEO*. And few of them know that VEOs are prohibited by the law of July 10, 2019,” explains Gilles Lazimi, doctor and president of the Stop VEO association.
“The aim of this film is to make everyone think about their own story”
The shocking little film highlights that violence is often passed down from generation to generation. “We become parents with the childhoods we lived and tend to consciously or unconsciously reproduce the actions of our elders. The aim of this film is to make everyone think about their story so that this vicious circle is not perpetuated,” says the doctor. Because VEOs have short- and medium-term consequences for victims: “They create stress that can disrupt early brain development. They can have an impact on self-esteem, academic results, increase the risk of personality disorders, antisocial behavior, etc.,” explains the doctor.
This awareness campaign is also a challenge to the government: “We need to help families by building parents’ homes, read the 2019 law at weddings, put it in the children’s health record…”, suggests Gilles Lazimi.
*According to the Ifop barometer for the Fondation de France conducted in 2022 on a sample of 1,314 parents of children aged 0 to 10 years.