Last Thursday and Friday, around a hundred students from the Mont des Accords middle school participated in a seminar raising awareness about violence against women. Discussions with gendarmes from the Family Protection House, theatrical performances by students and exchanges with artists and a lecturer from the University of the Antilles, to reflect on what it means to be a “gentleman” in 2026.
“This isn’t about discussing courtly love from the Middle Ages,” explains Amandine Rabot, a French teacher who initiated the project. The goal is rather to address appropriate and inappropriate behavior: not confusing “flirting” with harassment in the street, understanding the difference between masculinity and violence, and knowing emergency numbers for women in danger.
These two mornings brought to a close several weeks of work begun in class. The students presented papers on feminism and created a large timeline highlighting key dates in major advances for women’s rights in France. Two classes also acted out scenarios in front of their classmates, portraying women as victims of sexist or psychological violence, in order to denounce such acts and demonstrate appropriate responses to witnesses.
Following the intervention of two gendarmes on Thursday morning to clarify the legal definitions of violence against women, Friday morning was devoted to discussions with four Caribbean artists (poets, writers, and musicians) who, in their respective works, have explored romantic relationships and, more specifically, the concept of respect for women. The slam poet Eraussthe musician and teacher Philippe Sadikalay (band Soft Drinks), the author and poet Steve Gadet, alias Falo, also a lecturer at the University of the Antilles, and Silverman, singer of the Guadeloupean group Tanmpo Klassik and sponsor of this edition, came to talk about gallantry 2.0 and male-female relationships.
For Sibel Aydin, coordinator of the Saint-Martin Women’s HousePresent on Friday morning, she called the seminar “a wonderful initiative.” She praised the organization of such an event in a school setting: “I wish I could have attended something like this when I was younger.” For her, this meeting is also proof “that there is still hope” in the fight against gender inequality. _DR
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/education-prevenir-les-violences-des-le-college-etre-un-gentleman-en-2026/
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