Learn all lessons from the Catholic child abuse scandal from Bétharram

A Seemen Prime Minister, who declares himself to be more than five hours in one of the most urgent social issues of the moment: François Bayrous hearing ahead of the Assemblée examination committee National to “the state modes for surveillance and prevent violence in educational institutions” on Wednesday, May 14th, was anything but usual.

Admittedly, the extended dialogue between the Prime Minister and the MPs has not clarified all the ambiguities in relation to the scandal in terms of violence and rapes, which led to more than 200 complaints against the emergency-lady-de-Bétharm-Mitte and the High School, a Catholic institution near the southern city Pau, in Bayrou and still the citizens were good as possible. Although the hearing that was transmitted live required better management, it proved to be useful and revealed the different layers of interpretation in this resounding scandal. It included a politically unpleasant matter for the prime minister, who was accused of covering her up as President of the local department and Minister of Education and Minister of Education. The terrible silence that hidden psychological, physical and sexual violence hidden between the 1950s and 2000 in the renowned religious institution. After all, it highlighted the lessons learned today.

Dissolve the mechanisms at work

At the first point, Bayrous was heard on a political duel between him and Paul Vannier, a MP from La France (LFI, Radical Links), and the co-report of the Commission, who never hid his goal: to bring the prime minister with this scandal. The sound of the LFI legislator, who had allowed in vain, made it possible for the Prime Minister to present himself as a victim of a political witch hunt, and repeated that his version of events had “not changed”, although he contradicted himself several times and was not able to remind no facts from a few decades ago.

While he insisted that he had not been informed about the abuses that Bétharram's students had committed, Bayrou said that “somewhat tough methods” were accepted in this type of institution 30 years ago. While he immediately questioned the testimony of the teacher, who condemned her in the mid -nineties, he praised himself, at the same time as Minister of Education to publish a memorandum against violence in schools.

From #metoo to the revelations of widespread sexual violence in the Catholic Church, the French society, insofar as it has recently started, has to wake up these realities, and the MPs fulfill their role as they try to suppress the mechanisms, the scandals and prevent the victims from being pronounced in public.

The crucial question now is whether the Commission's work in schools in schools can lead to concrete progress beyond the political motivations of its leaders, which would enable the victims to really express themselves and implement effective prevention. The “Break The Silence” surgery of the Ministry of Education, in which the students are asked anonymously about the school, is a first step. In addition, the prime minister campaigned for the creation of an independent authority against violence against children.

Beyond his role to alert and inform, the work of the MPs will prove to be advantageous, especially if it helps the country to change from a culture of silence to listen.