This Thursday, the city of Nice handed over about thirty dolls to the juvenile brigade at the Auvare barracks. These will be used by children victims of sexual abuse, helping them to better explain what they have experienced.
It is a beautiful show of generosity from the senior volunteers at the “Les Orangers” senior center and the CCAS “Le Village”. The 26 seamstresses, knitters, and crocheters were all present yesterday during the handover of the dolls to the juvenile brigade and the center for information on women’s and family rights (CIDFF).
They are very proud of these dolls, especially since making gendered dolls wasn’t easy. They also congratulated themselves for serving this noble cause. Together they formed a true “intergenerational solidarity chain”, as defined by Marie-Pierre Lazard.
This project was envisioned in the summer of 2020, and since then, Marie-Pierre Lazard, municipal councilor sub-delegate to the council of family rights and duties, has made it her driving force. And so, just over a year and a half later, this project materialized into 32 gendered cloth dolls, representing different origins, girls, boys, adults, and children, all handcrafted. Creating all different dolls is a point the municipal councilor has stressed, as it allows children to choose the doll that attracts them most, aiding in their engagement with the police’s questioning.
These dolls will not be toys but rather a practical tool, insists the municipal councilor. “It involves asking children to mimic on the doll what happened when they find it difficult to verbalize. Many reasons cause children to struggle with expression, even when they have the necessary vocabulary, such as fear of the aggressor, fear of retaliation, fear of family disruption, and fear of not being believed,” confides Marie-Pierre Lazard.
The support from these seniors will thus be a valuable aid for the suffering children and a necessary tool to facilitate the hearing of the concerned children.
