The Ministry of Culture commits against sexual and sexist violence and harassment: survey in the higher schools of Culture

The Ministry of Culture is committed to a proactive approach to fight against all forms of inequality, discrimination and violence. In 2017, it was the first ministry to obtain the dual Professional Equality and Diversity label of Afnor; since then, it has been deploying for its administration, its public institutions and cultural policies in the broadest sense of the term, measures to promote equality between women and men, but also to prevent and address gender-based and sexual violence.

It is in this context that a listening cell, active since 2017, was made available to all staff and students under the Ministry, in order to offer them legal and psychological support.

Training in the prevention and fight against gender and sexual violence is also offered to all administrative communities, teachers and students of the Ministry of Culture.

The Ministry specifically supports the 99 schools of arts and cultural higher education whether they have the status of national public institution or whether the Ministry of Culture only provides pedagogical supervision.

Almost half of these schools already have ethical charters for equality and diversity, which must address prevention and the fight against violence.

In February 2020, the Ministry launched a survey of perceptions of gender and sexual violence and harassment in arts and cultural higher education. The survey, entirely anonymous, was aimed at teachers, administrators and technical staff at 99 schools, as well as 37,000 students studying in schools of culture (architecture and landscape, art and design, performing arts, cinema, heritage).

This unprecedented survey collected 9,404 responses for three-quarters of students. The results and their analyses were returned to the school management teams as well as the staff and student representatives.

These results reveal several potentially serious situations or facts. The survey’s anonymous and declarative responses alert us to the need to continue to identify procedures and solutions capable of ensuring a respectful study and work environment for all.

In the continuity of the action plan put in place since 2017, the Ministry of Culture will accompany schools in the implementation of appropriate action plans in terms of speech collection, disciplinary or criminal sanctions if necessary, awareness raising among administrative and pedagogical teams as well as the student community.