Meeting with a specialized educator
The éclap team had the chance to interview Mélissandre, a specialized educator in Cluses (Haute-Savoie). This exchange gave us an insight into the daily lives of specialized educators who are on the ground, close to young people and their stories. They are essential partners for us in helping to design our awareness tools against sexism.
Through this article, you will discover the reality of the challenges faced by young people daily, as well as the importance of Mélissandre's and her team's interventions.
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Being a Specialized Educator
L'éclap : What is EPDA?
Mélissandre : It stands for: Établissement Public Départemental Autonome (Autonomous Departmental Public Institution). It is funded by the department but has its own Board of Directors, so it is autonomous in a way. It falls under child protection.
L'éclap : What are your daily missions as a specialized educator?
Mélissandre : We are a specialized prevention service, meaning we meet young people directly in their living environment, in their neighborhood, after school, outdoors... It is from this encounter that we can offer educational actions, either individual or in groups.
Mélissandre : So the 5 pillars of prevention are:
- Non-mandate; we are not mandated by anyone, meaning that usually educators are mandated for specific situations: by a judge, because of a disability, for example. At EPDA, we do not have a mandate, we are available and accessible to all young people, regardless of their personal situation. Even though we are part of child protection, there is no judge, no obligation.
- Anonymity; we are not required to reveal the names of the young people we support. We provide some information for statistics but that's it. And young people come to us for that very reason! Of course, we intervene if there is a minor in danger, but it remains completely anonymous.
- Free adherence; meaning young people come if they want to, they are not obliged to come. They can come once, ten times, then not at all, and that's their right! Our role is to encourage adherence, of course, but we cannot force young people to come to us. This is both incredibly rewarding and incredibly complicated because if there is a young person who really needs support and we can't get them to come... it's very frustrating! On the other hand, once a young person is there, it means they really want to be there. They really want to get involved, to do things with us. This creates a strong and special bond with young people.
- Non-institutionalization; this means that we do not institutionalize practices. If we do something once, we are not required to repeat it systematically every year. Of course, there are things that are relevant to reproduce every year, but we don't institutionalize that kind of thing, we are very adaptable.
And the 5th pillar; we talked about it, it's partnership!
L'éclap : What is specialized prevention?
Mélissandre : It's an action of reaching out to young people. It's a voluntary approach by the educator who goes to the young person. "Reaching out" is the key word in prevention.
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Interventions with young people
L'éclap : Why is it important to pay particular attention to middle school years?
Mélissandre : Our target audience is really 11-15 year olds because it's a pivotal period in the construction of adolescence. It's the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence. They are moving towards adulthood, but are not there yet. Françoise Dolto describes adolescence as the lobster complex. When a lobster grows, it completely loses its shell and spends this period being 100% vulnerable to all external hazards before reforming its adult shell. Young people are leaving childhood, they are happy to enter the adult world, but at the same time there is a transition period where they are ultra vulnerable and they face puberty, sexuality, responsibilities: which is difficult to manage! The outside world is harsh and violent, and inside it's difficult too.
"Middle school years" are our target audience, but we sometimes work with primary schools, especially for one-off interventions in schools. For example, for psychosocial risk prevention, we intervene in all primary schools. We also work with high schools up to 18, sometimes 21 years old.
L'éclap : When do your interventions take place?
Mélissandre : It's very varied! We can be called upon to intervene in middle schools, high schools, on prevention actions during school hours. We also go out into the street to see young people and talk directly with them. We decide when to set up an action. We try to judge as best as possible when we will be able to see young people, when it is most relevant to be there or not. The advantage of prevention is that we are not in the daily routine, we can decide to postpone a project. We have more flexibility than an educator in a boarding school, for example.
L'éclap : Where can young people find you?
Mélissandre : We have a local office right next to the middle school. It's pretty well known by young people now. We have drop-in sessions at the office on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings where they are sure to find educators. It's a place to meet them individually, in groups...
L'éclap : Do you have complete freedom in the design and implementation of your projects?
Mélissandre : We get the project validated by the head of service and the local team, then we do evaluations at the end of the project. It happens that the managers tell us "you can't do that". At EPDA, we still have a lot of freedom to implement actions. They are very open as long as we justify the project's interest, but there are no problems with that in the team!
L'éclap : How many are you in the team? How do you organize internally to set up projects?
Mélissandre : There are 4 full-time educators. I've been in this position for 2 years, a colleague for a year, and another who's been here for 13 years, and a 4th person will be arriving soon. We usually have weekly meetings together to discuss actions to be implemented. Generally, to set up projects, we create pairs so as not to individualize relationships or links with partners. For example, for the "Moi c'est Madame" workshops, I am the team's reference person, but now the other colleagues participate in the workshops with me. Last week we did a workshop with 12-14 year olds with my colleague Pauline. Next week we are setting one up for 15-16 year olds with my colleague Mathieu. "Moi c'est Madame" interests everyone, so I centralize the information but everyone participates.
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The game "Moi c'est Madame" as a tool
L'éclap : It's great to know that "Moi c'est Madame" interests your whole team and that you want to participate in the creation of the youth version!
Mélissandre : Yes, especially since we are currently organizing workshops in Cluses, but workshops will also be set up in Bonneville and La Roche-sur-Foron with colleagues working in those towns.
L'éclap : That's great! Thank you for participating in the creation of the game for the youth version!
Mélissandre : I don't know if we'll manage to make completely operational cards, but for us, it creates a lot of interaction and connection with young people, so that's really cool!
L'éclap : Great! How was the game received in your workshops?
Mélissandre : Well, it interested young people a lot, especially the girls. We already have to raise their awareness to tell them that what they experience every day is not normal. For example, not walking down certain streets in the neighborhood because there are boys there and they don't want to be bothered, that's not normal!
L'éclap : Yes, we normalize a lot of our daily actions...
Mélissandre : Yes, and even among adults! We try to raise awareness among our colleagues, and even I sometimes say things and then think "wait, that's sexist, actually!". Last week we created some attack cards, and half of them are quotes from adults working at the middle school. It's like "dressed like that, you're asking for trouble?!". When in fact, I could walk naked in the street, and it wouldn't justify being attacked... We try to work on these representations.
We also broaden the question, because we see a lot of things that are also sexist towards boys; for example, a boy who expresses his emotions is necessarily gay, which is not true! A boy also has the right to say that he likes or dislikes something, that he doesn't feel well. He has the right not to be strong, and a girl can carry more than her neighbor, that's not a problem!
For now, we have a lot of girls' groups, but they also see sexism among boys; they tell us anecdotes about their boyfriends. This game is great because it creates awareness among young people, and it allows us to be recognized as a trusted adult on these subjects.
L'éclap : Why is the game "Moi c'est Madame" a tool for you?
Mélissandre : Our goal with the game is to be connected enough with young people so that one day, if they face a complex situation and can't find anyone to talk to, it will be us. They can talk to us about all subjects! It happens that we provide support for abortions, for example, and we respect anonymity. We are authorized to do so, and parents are not required to be informed. They know we see their child but don't know the reasons.
L'éclap: When do you meet with parents?
Mélissandre : Sometimes during family mediation, at the young person's request, or if parents ask us to.
L'éclap : Do boys come to see you as much as girls?
Mélissandre : Yes, in Cluses, we have quite a bit of diversity, and that's why we make sure to maintain diversity within the team as well. Because as professionals, even if we are all equally attentive to each other, there are inevitably affinities.
L'éclap : In your opinion, what is important to add to the "Moi c'est Madame" game for young people, based on what already exists?
Mélissandre : It seems essential to start from their experiences to tell them that their voice matters and that there are many other young people in France experiencing the same things. Realizing that all the attacks have actually been experienced is extremely important. It helps to understand that some attacks are daily and are not trivial.
It is also important to broaden the question of sexism in general and not just to women. Boys, different genders, different sexual orientations... are also topics to address in the youth version, I think. These are situations we are increasingly confronted with.
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Interview conducted by Manon Garcia del Barrio for L'éclap'
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If you also wish to use the "Moi c’est Madame" game as a tool to raise awareness about sexism, you can get it by clicking here. Contact us if you would like to receive the accompanying pedagogical booklet for free!
