On Saturday January 7, 2023, Lucas, a 13-year-old schoolboy ended his life. Victim of school harassment because of his sexual orientation, the management of the college did not pay tribute to him.
On Saturday January 7, we learned some very sad news. Lucas, a 13-year-old schoolboy, ended his life. But what could drive a young boy to take his own life at such a young age? Relatives of Lucas indicated that the latter was the victim of school harassment because of his homosexuality. A case unfortunately not isolated. “He was harassed regularly in relation to his outfit, his way of being, what he gave off. He was whole, so he wasn’t hiding. It may have bothered some people who dared not be as whole as him.”, confided Stéphanie, a close to family.
An investigation has been opened for “harassment of a 15-year-old minor” and for “school harassment” to to establish the link between his suicide and the harassment. “Lucas left a note in his diary explaining his desire to end his life (…) but he does not refer to harassment”said Frédéric Nahon, the public prosecutor of Épinal.
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“We have the impression that they want to bury the story”: is the management of the college failing in its duty?
Still, the bullying Lucas suffered at school was very real, and it was no secret. The young boy’s mother had reported it to the CPE without however filing a complaint. And the students at her college were aware of it, since the bullying also took place online, in the school’s discussion groups. In a Snapchat group, Lucas asked a question and a stalker replied “What does LGBT want?“.
Lucas’ classmates are angry and feel that the college administration is not acting. “It feels like they want to bury the story,” indicate students, according to The Parisian. Furthermore, the college management did not organize no gatherings or speeches, to show him respect. Yet Emmanuel Macron recalled last May the importance of schoole “in the fight against prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans people”.