On February 10, 2015, France 2 dedicated a special evening to school bullying with the documentary “Souffre-douleurs: ils se manifestent” (Victims of Bullying: Speaking Out), directed by Andrea Rawlins-Gaston and Laurent Follea as part of the Infrarouge series.
United by schools was represented by Lenny Pamart, one of the film’s six protagonists.
The documentary follows the journeys of young victims of bullying — Emeline, Agathe, Lucas, Lenny, Charlène, and Jonathan — aged between 15 and 23.
Through their testimonies, the film exposes a long-overlooked phenomenon in France, affecting 10% of students, or about 1.2 million children and adolescents.
Parents who have lost their children, such as Nora, Virginie, and Raphaël, deliver deeply moving accounts of the tragic consequences of silence.
Martin Debord, a United by schools volunteer, appears in the final scene, where the participants sign a manifesto against bullying, broadcast across television screens.
Also aired in Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Canada, this documentary-manifesto became a powerful international awareness tool, marking a turning point in France’s media coverage of school bullying.