“Vintage toy car for children”, “baby crib” , “Double door wardrobe for children”. These a priori harmless small advertisements published on the Leboncoin.fr site warn about the fate of child victims of violence. They are part of a campaign launched by theassociation Enfance uppercase. The collective has joined forces with the peer-to-peer sales site Leboncoin.fr to raise awareness of child abuse. Objective: “to challenge the French in their daily lives and make the invisible visible”, explains the association, cited by Le Figaro.
On closer inspection, the campaign advertisements appeal to the Internet user who looks at the photos associated with the furniture for sale. Indeed, the observation of the overall environment of the room in which the vintage children’s toy is placed, for example, lets glimpse a disturbing detail: a frightened child hidden in a trunk.
Scrolling through the photos of the toy sold for 180 euros in Paris, we can read: “When his daddy comes home, Baptiste goes into hiding. But it’s not to play”.
The child’s words “not heard enough”
These photos also aim to remind the French of the right reflex to have if they hear about violence committed against children. You should dial 119, the free number (open 24 hours a day) which gives access to the national telephone reception service for children at risk. “The protection of the child must be a priority for France. However, we realize that the child’s voice is not systematically heard. We devalue it at the risk of leaving the child alone in the face of danger”, regrets in Figaro Anne-Marie Clément, national president of the Federation of Committees Alexis Danan, of which the association Enfance majuscule belongs.
Child abuse refers to violence and neglect towards anyone under the age of 18, whether physical, sexual or psychological.
A quarter of adults report having suffered physical violence as a child. One in 5 women and one in 13 men report having suffered sexual violence as a child, estimates the World Health Organization.
Read also: Abuse: damage to children’s brains
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