Questionnaire on sexist and sexual violence in schools: a system with uncertain foundations

The presentation of the “Breaking the Silence” questionnaire to the Superior Council of Education has been postponed to October 1st. Originally scheduled for Thursday, September 17, the Ministry of National Education announced it would rework the first version. This questionnaire aims to identify minors who are victims of sexist and sexual violence. While the device is promising on paper, its concrete implementation reveals certain shortcomings, identified by the educational community.

Each year in France, approximately 160,000 children are victims of sexual violence, according to a report by the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence (CIIVISE). In recent years, scandals involving sexual violence perpetrated against minors in school and extracurricular settings have multiplied.

The Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, announced the creation of an annual questionnaire on sexist and sexual violence issues on August 25th. It is a matter of determining whether the minors questioned have ever been confronted with words, behaviors or situations that put them in an uncomfortable position. During his back-to-school 2026 press conference, the rector of the Nice academy, Emmanuel Roux, responded to this announcement: « 10% of students have experienced sexual violence and scaled to a classroom, this figure cannot leave us indifferent! »

In the Nice academy as elsewhere, the questionnaire is intended to become mandatory, twice a year, for public and private schools under contract from the 2026 school year onwards. This device is part of the Ministry of National Education’s desire to combat the increase in all forms of violence in schools, particularly sexist and sexual violence. The objective is to identify these situations in anticipation in order to facilitate the mobilization of competent actors and ensure the protection of minors concerned. In a statement, the ministry affirmed its desire to make school « a place of refuge where minors can report the violence they suffer. »

The questionnaire is currently being reworked following numerous reservations raised by the educational community. This first version highlighted certain shortcomings, both in the formulation of the questions and in the implementation procedures. 

A questionnaire that is too abstract 

This device will be accessible to students from kindergarten to final year. Three versions will be provided to adapt the seven to ten questions to students’ ages. In the first version, the formulations of the questionnaire for elementary school students leave some members of the educational community perplexed. « I fear that young children will not understand the questions asked », lamented an after-school supervisor in the Alpes-Maritimes*. Working with children for many years, she recommends questions focused on emotions felt, because at these ages, emotions become a way of understanding right and wrong.

Furthermore, the three announced themes are « well-being and safety », « respect for the body and choices » and finally « knowledge of resources. » These will be closed-ended questions to which students will have to answer yes or no. At the heart of the questionnaire given to middle school classes, students will be questioned about sexual behaviors and gestures of which they may have been victims, as well as the notion of consent. In high schools, questions will be more in-depth, particularly by addressing sexual violence, intimate images and pressure to engage in sexual acts. 

The educational community raised concerns, particularly about the question « have you experienced sexual assault? » This reluctance stems from the fact that victims do not always tend to recognize themselves in legal terminology. Studies have revealed how psychologically costly it is for victims to apply these qualifications to their own experience. The use of descriptions and formulations about specific facts is recommended to reveal the nature of the acts.

Imprecise supervision conditions 

Effectiveness will depend on the questions but also on the conditions under which the session will be conducted. It was clarified that this questionnaire could be proposed anonymously or nominatively, after prior notification of parents. « The student can agree to lift this anonymity and otherwise, a seed begins to germinate and things may always evolve until he manages to confide », assured Emmanuel Roux, the rector of the Nice academy.

The session should take place during a sequence called Education in Affective and Relational Life (EVAR) in primary school or Education in Affective, Relational and Sexual Life (EVARS) in secondary school. These sessions are intended to address relationships with others, respect, equality between the sexes and prevention against discrimination and violence.

The device recommends the presence of a pair of adults, consisting of a teacher and a health professional, social worker or psychologist from National Education. However, the CIIVISE deplored that « school health services show a particularly striking staff shortage, with on average one doctor for 13,000 students and one nurse for 1,300 students. » This can present difficulties in its implementation.

This lack of competent personnel also raises concerns about the interpretation of questionnaire results. The liberation of speech must necessarily be accompanied by effective follow-up of minors affected by sexist and sexual violence. If necessary, victims must be able to be placed to safety immediately. « Receiving the voice of a child victim requires specific skills », recalled the CIIVISE in its statement. It also added that national education must in no way be content with benevolent listening, concrete consideration of the child’s voice and his or her situation appears necessary.

*The person wished to remain anonymous.