A holiday to forget your sorrows

A holiday to forget your sorrows

"My 8-year-old daughter goes to school in Geneva. For several months now she has been telling me that she is subjected to insults and abuse on a daily basis by a handful of pupils who have taken a dislike to her. The school recognises that there is a big problem but plays down the situation, claiming that my daughter is no angel and that she is responsible for what happens to her. These words were too much and led me to change my daughter's school during the year. From a legal point of view, are these children and their parents at risk? What about the school's responsibility when faced with a problem that could have very serious consequences?

Olivier, Geneva

In Switzerland, the age of criminal majority is set at 10, and it is only once a child has reached this age that he or she can be punished for committing an offence, in application of the federal law governing the criminal status of minors, a special criminal law that governs minors between the ages of 10 and 18. Parents are not criminally liable for offences committed by their children. Your daughter's school friends who have not reached this age limit cannot therefore be held responsible, and neither can their parents.

On the other hand, from a civil point of view, a person whose personality has been unlawfully infringed may take legal action for protection against any person involved in the infringement, in accordance with article 28 of the Civil Code, by asking the court to establish and prohibit the unlawful infringement and to put an end to it. In this respect, the head of the family is liable for damage caused by minors placed under his or her authority, unless he or she can prove that he or she supervised them with the attention required by the circumstances. The injured party must establish that he or she has suffered a loss, either property damage or non-material harm, resulting from the behaviour of a minor under the supervision of the head of the family. In addition, the perpetrator's act must be unlawful and causally linked to the damage. In practice, however, it is difficult to prove the existence of non-material damage.

The school is civilly liable for the actions of its teachers and staff. However, the teacher, and therefore the school, can only be held liable if they are at fault, i.e. if they fail in their duty of care. The existence of fault must be proven. Moreover, the fault must have caused the damage. Unlike accidents, in cases of harassment it is often difficult to prove that the teacher was at fault, that he or she breached a duty of care and that this fault caused harm.

Your best chance of obtaining reimbursement for any costs associated with the change of school is therefore to take legal action against the parents of the children who bullied your daughter, but the facts may be difficult to establish clearly now that you have done the most important thing: listened to your child and protected her development by taking the necessary measures. May this holiday be a happy whitewash over this painful experience!