In Eure, the association which frees the voice of abused children is struggling to develop

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“This is a cry for help. » Sylvie Muller is the referent for the association Les Papillons for the department ofYour. This resident of La Saussaye, now retired, joined the association shortly after its creation, five years ago, in 2020. “I have always had a particular sensitivity for children,” she confides.

Evils on words

She has been working hard, for several years, to make the association known in the department, and to allow local children to benefit from the aid device. The Les Papillons association wants to free children's voices by installing mailboxes in schools, leisure centers or even sports clubs.

We make the link between children and the help they can receive.

In these boxes, they can leave words if they are being mistreated. School harassment, physical or moral violence, sexual assault and rapeetc. The mail is then collected once or twice a week, then it is sent to the association's psychologists.

Each time, depending on the nature of the facts denounced, the association contacts the Cells for the Collection of Concerning Information (CRIP) of the departments concerned or the Public Prosecutors of the competent Judicial Courts. “ We cannot replace social services. We make the link between the children and the help they can receive,” explains Sylvie Muller.

“he put his bottom part in my bottom part” (sic)

At the end of September 2024, a grandfather, in Ain, was convicted of rape and sexual assault on three of his granddaughters. And it is thanks to word dropped by one of them, then aged 10 ansthat the silence had been broken. “He touches me on the bottom side and on the top side and also he put his bottom part in my bottom part and I tried to take it off but he wouldn’t (sic),” the little girl wrote.

« The box saved them. For children, it is easier to write than to speak. The sooner we speak out, the more chance they have of rebuilding themselves afterwards,” explains Sylvie Muller.

Few boxes in Eure

However, in the department of Eure, there are only around twenty Papillons mailboxesincluding several located in the same municipalities, such as Pont-Audemer or Conches-en-Ouche. Worse, certain cities have chosen not to renew their agreement with the association and to dismantle the boxes.

This is the case in Vraiville, where a Butterflies box had been installed for the start of the school year in September 2021, at the school. “We kept it for a year,” explains the mayor, Hervé Gamblin. But there was no agreement with National Education, I had to find the words myself, It was getting too complicated. » Since then, the management of the school has changed, and the mayor assures that the school “takes these issues head on”. The fact remains that, for a year, the box allowed the mayor to manage some problems of school bullying, which he learned about through words.

The involvement of municipalities

For Sylvie Muller, the partnership is “ a real commitment against child abuse » for communities and structures, which requires real involvement. They must in fact sign an agreement, pay a contribution, find representatives who will be trained by the association to work with children by explaining to them how the system works, and trusted people who will take care of the mail. “If a municipality really wants to help children, it succeeds,” assures Sylvie Muller.

Need volunteers

Today, the referent wants to “start from scratch”. She approached the municipalities, little by little, first by email, then in town halls, when she managed to obtain an appointment. “Some elected officials say that they don’t need it, that there is no mistreatment among them…” Without wishing to cast shame on them, Sylvie Muller hopes for awareness about the importance of helping children to speak. “I wrote to the deputies of the department, I would like help to make the association known. »

The representative is also keenly looking for volunteers, because there are only 3 or 4 of them in the entire department, to approach municipalities and structures, and enable the deployment of the boxes. “There are children in real danger… Let’s mobilize. »

If you are interested in joining the Les Papillons association or becoming a partner, in Eure, contact Sylvie Muller on 07 69 05 09 09 or [email protected]

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