A consent awareness campaign starts this weekend in universities.
Le Monde with AFP
The budget allocated to the fight against gender -based and sexual violence in higher education will double in 2023 and the government will launch an awareness campaign for consent, announced the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, in an interview published on Saturday October 8 on the Parisian website .
A year after the launch of a plan to combat sexist and sexual violence (VSS) at university and in grandes écoles, “we realize that there is a real need for action, of training, and we will therefore double the budget devoted each year to this plan, “explains the minister. This budget should thus drop from 1.7 to 3.5 million euros annually.
4 % of the student population concerned by assaults or attempted attacks
“The VSS phenomenon is better known and measured. In the 2019-2020 academic year, we know that 140,000 people were affected by assaults or attempted attacks, or 4 % of the student population” , details the minister, adding that “it’s enormous and intolerable”.
Already, “training sessions have been launched and reporting cells are formed and unfolding in most universities and grandes écoles,” she said. “Two general inspectors work there full time and nine hundred people (students as teachers or universities staff) have already been trained.”
While alcohol consumption “increases risks”, especially during festivities as integration weekends, “today there is a real consideration of these issues in establishments that show responsibility “, reports M me retailleau.
” without yes, it is prohibited “
The Minister will finance “from this start of the school year of association projects and establishments up to 1.2 million euros”, she explains, citing the example of anestaps, the National Association Sports students, who will “receive a subsidy to set up during festivities (…) secure places with relay people”.
A consent awareness campaign also starts this weekend, and “posters will be deployed (…) in schools and universities, with this slogan:” without yes, it is prohibited “”. This campaign will be available on social networks in partnership with the Konbini online media.
Hundreds of sexual assaults had been revealed last year by internal reports in several grandes écoles, including CentraleSuPélec or Polytechnique, and several rape investigations were opened in June by the Evry prosecution.