“The instructor touched my hands, shoulder, knees”: bad behavior in driving schools

As Mary will soon be leaving Paris, she decides it’s time to finally get her driver’s license. In September 2021, a 27-year-old young woman (who wished to remain anonymous) enrolled in the capital’s driving school, passed the code test and began taking driving lessons with an instructor. “During the first two lessons he was very tactful, He says today. He touched my hands, shoulder, knees. I asked him to stop. »

During the third session, the monitor asks Mary to stop by the side of the road and takes her to the Tang Frères store on 13.^e District. there, he has “Elbow blocked to the wall” and tried to kiss her. “I did not say the word “aggression” about what happened at that time. I knew this was a common problem in driving schools, so common that I don’t think I should file a complaint. » A young woman asks to change the monitor.

“There were already sixteen testimonies against him, I decided to add mine and file a complaint. Mariam, 27 years old

A few months later, he received a phone call. Police are investigating the man. “There were already sixteen testimonies against him, I decided to add mine and file a complaint. » Mary’s Watcher was sentenced on January 4, 2023 in the 17th District Court^e district of Paris. He was sentenced to eight months’ probation for sexual assault, a three-year ban as a driving instructor and a five-year disqualification. Since driving instructors are required to have a clean criminal record in order to be issued a teaching license (which they must renew every five years), a mayor’s instructor can opt out of the profession.

Humiliation, shouting, insults

Cases of sexual violence are common in driving schools. On December 12, 2022, the 35-year-old instructor was sentenced to eighteen months’ probation by Rennes Criminal Court for sexually assaulting four students. In October of that year, a 44-year-old man was given a six-month suspended sentence for two assaults in La Courneuve, Saint-Saint-Denis. Similar cases were discussed in 2022 in Lorgu (Var), Ortez (Pyrenees-Atlantique), Nancy (Merthe-et-Moselle)…

“He made racist remarks to passers-by. When I asked him to stop, he refused to continue the lesson and sent me back to the driving school. ” Mariam