One year after its establishment, the Observatory has reaffirmed its role as a watchdog against online violence against minors.

The Observatory on Digital Harassment and Violence against Minors

The Observatory on Cyberbullying and Online Violence Against Minors analyses trends in online violence, as well as the mechanisms of bullying affecting children and teenagers. Through its research, monitoring activities and partnerships, it helps to improve understanding of these phenomena in order to strengthen prevention and the protection of minors.

Founded in June 2025 under the leadership of Véronique Béchu, a former police commander who has been committed to combating violence against children for over twenty years, the Observatory on Cyberbullying and Digital Violence against Minors takes stock of its first year.

Designed as a monitoring, analysis and early-warning system, the Observatory draws on a unique source of data: enquiries and reports received via the 3018 helpline; prevention workshops run for young people; and the Association’s research and institutional, European and international partnerships.

With the aim of documenting the situations faced by children and young people, identifying trends in the violence to which they are exposed, bringing together different areas of expertise, producing resources to aid prevention, advocacy and policy-making, and to alert the judicial authorities to behaviour that is particularly harmful to minors in their use of digital technologies.

The Observatory’s remit

The Observatory on Cyberbullying and Digital Violence against Minors has the following remit:

– to monitor incidents of cyberbullying and online violence affecting minors; ;
– to analyse trends in bullying, cyberbullying and emerging digital risks; ;
– to produce reliable studies and data; ;
– to support public authorities in their decision-making; ;
– to raise awareness amongst families and professionals.

Analysing the realities experienced by young people 

Two studies led by the Observatory have documented the reality experienced by young people. The Association’s annual survey reveals that nearly 4 in 10 young people aged between 6 and 18 are affected by bullying or cyberbullying, and that a quarter of the victims have already thought about taking their own lives. 

The study «Adolescents and Information» highlights a generation that turns first to social media for news, with TikTok leading the way for 70 % of teenagers, whilst more than eight in ten say they no longer know who to trust in the face of fake news.

Identifying emerging trends

At the same time, the Observatory has also been monitoring phenomena that are still not being given sufficient attention : the normalisation of masculinist discourse in online spaces frequented by teenagers, the misuse of AI, including deepfakes, «undressing» tools, hijacked chatbots and the extreme violence perpetrated by the movement The Com such as CVLT and 764.

This evidence-based analysis led the Observatory to appear before the Senate’s Women’s Rights Committee (May 2026) to discuss the rise of the masculinist movement, and it submitted its recommendations to the public authorities.

Bridging the gap between the field, research and institutions

The Observatory has also helped to strengthen dialogue between practitioners, researchers, institutions, organisations and education professionals.

On 5 November 2025, on the eve of National Anti-Bullying Day in Schools, the Association organised its first conference, which focused on the mechanisms of bullying amongst young people and the current state of public policy. Opened by Justine Atlan and Véronique Béchu, the event brought together researchers, institutions, organisations and stakeholders in the education sector. It marked the launch of a series of meetings dedicated to the protection of minors against digital violence, the second instalment of which, in March 2026, was devoted to the protection of young people in the digital environment. 

The Observatory has launched an educational project focusing on disinformation and gender equality, developed in collaboration with pupils at the Hector Berlioz secondary school in Vincennes (94), with the aim of helping young people to take a more critical look at their digital habits and the content to which they are exposed.

To produce findings that are useful for public policy-making

Published in May 2026 under the status of “trusted reporter”, the first transparency report The Association’s report highlighted the rise in online violence and the inadequacy of the responses from platforms. In 2025, the 3018 helpline received 124,500 calls; one in four victims was under the age of 11; a suicide crisis was dealt with every three days; a quarter of sextortion cases were generated using AI. It has seen a resurgence of a phenomenon affecting mainly young girls: “sexual extortion for the purpose of humiliation”, which is closely linked to young people’s recent embrace of masculinist rhetoric. 

READ THE 2025 TRANSPARENCY REPORT

An Observatory dedicated to the protection of children

This approach bridges the gap between analysis and action. The Observatory’s mission is to guide public authorities in developing appropriate responses, whilst providing young people, their parents and professionals with guidance and tools to understand situations, identify the right course of action and respond more effectively.