It’s National Day Against School Bullying. And to fight against its “cyber” version, TikTok and Instagram will help their users who are victims or witnesses to call 3018, the national help number for victims of digital violence, in partnership with the e-Enfance association, the two social networks announced Thursday, November 9.
On Instagram, anyone who reports harassment will see a telephone call button appear which allows them to immediately reach the listeners, psychologists and lawyers at 3018, who are available every day from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. On TikTok, a network very popular with young people, there is no direct call button but those who report a case are now offered a link which sends them to the 3018 site.
For e-Enfance, the direct call button, which allows you to call 3018 without leaving the application, is an effective tool that has been desired for a long time. “We have been asking for a safe button for years, we have also asked for it at the European level,” said Justine Atlan, general director of e-Enfance. “It took a little time to be understood but we are satisfied that direct access has been integrated”, explained Justine Atlan.
“This will allow young victims, once their report has been established, to benefit from immediate specific support,” she said.
A quarter of families have already been confronted with the issue of cyberharassment of a minor, according to a survey carried out for e-Enfance dating from mid-October: 15% of primary school students have already been confronted with it, 25% of middle school students and 27 % of high school students.
To deal with this phenomenon, the government presented a series of measures at the end of September, ranging from the systematic reporting of cases of harassment to the courts to the desire to exclude student harassers from social networks. Because 86% of 8 to 18 year olds are registered on this type of site, including 67% of schoolchildren, 93% of middle school students and 96% of high school students.