Lindsay’s suicide: cascading failures

Lindsays suicide cascading failures

Each new drama arouses the same emotion, raises a multitude of questions, leads to long debates on this scourge of school bullying. Then the emotion fades… Until a new tragic event. But this time, the parents of Lindsay, who killed himself on May 12 after enduring an ordeal of several months, decided not to be silent. Four complaints have been filed against the management of the establishment, against the Academy of Lille, against the police or against the social network Facebook. Four young people were also indicted for “school harassment leading to suicide”, as well as an adult for “death threats”. The ongoing investigation will determine everyone’s responsibilities.

In the meantime, the struggle of Lindsay’s parents brings to light the cascade of failures that led to this fatal outcome. The family, who say they have given the alert several times, have not been heard. “It’s a collective failure”, recognized Pap Ndiaye, the Minister of National Education, before recalling the various measures – unfortunately insufficient – taken in recent years.

According to statistics, between 800,000 and 1 million students are victims of harassment each year, or 6 to 10% of the workforce. These edifying figures should encourage each of us – parents, teachers, heads of establishments, police forces, etc. – to take responsibility. And never close your eyes again.

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