Introduction:
“La maladroite” is a TV movie (1h25) directed by Eléonore Faucher in 2018, the adaptation of
the book by Alexandre Seurat (2015) and inspired by a true story. Indeed, this TV movie is
inspired by the Marina Sabatier case, a French court case linked to the death of the young
Marina Sabatier in August 2009, at the age of 8, as a result of the abuse suffered by both her
parents.
Keywords: child abuse, children, child protection, victims, death, institution
Summary:
In this TV movie, Marina Sabatier is played by Stella. Stella is a six-year-old girl living with
her parents, older brother and younger sister. Stella goes to school for the first time, while her
brother and sister are already in school. Stella is an engaging, curious and discreet girl. She
shows aggressive behaviour with her peers, which prevents her from having friends.
During her schooling, several behaviours intrigue Céline, her teacher. Indeed, Stella is late to
school, is regularly absent, wears thick turtlenecks that she refuses to take off, invents different
pretexts to avoid going to the swimming pool, throws herself on her friends’ food and steals
their snacks.
The teacher decides to meet Stella’s parents in order to understand the repeated absences. They
explained that their daughter had an autoimmune disease that required regular visits to the
hospital and that they had lost her health record. Later, the teacher noticed injuries on Stella’s
arms, but the granddaughter said she was “clumsy” and had fallen. Stella’s teacher noticed too
many signs and decided to write down every injury she observed on the girl in a notebook, as
well as the frequency of her repeated absences. Despite the teacher’s reports, the school doctor
did not notice anything abnormal during his observation.
Then Stella’s family decided to move, so she joined a new school. Following this move, Stella’s
new teacher makes the same observation as the previous one and also reports.
Following a third move of the family, the neighbours also questioned the possible abuse of
Stella by the couple. An investigation was then carried out, the doctor, the social worker and
the gendarmes were mobilised, but the parents denied it. The social services were slow to react,
as the family’s successive moves did not facilitate their actions.
The parents report Stella’s disappearance, but the father ends up confessing the terrible truth,
after having pretended an accidental death to the investigators. Stella died as a result of the
many abuses suffered by her parents, while she was locked in the cellar. Her last words were
“Good night mum, see you tomorrow”.
In reality, Stella was abused from a very young age, while her brother and sister were not abused
at all. Unfortunately, she was subjected to various forms of abuse (kicked, punched, starved,
locked in the cellar, immersed in freezing or burning baths, etc.). Despite her parents’ torture,
Stella loved them unconditionally and never denounced them. She never complained and was
always justifying herself, which is regularly observed in abused children.
Conclusion:
Doubt is present until the end, the aim of the director being to bring a reflection, without passing
judgement on an institution, to sensitise the public by having the possibility of “putting oneself
in the place” of the different protagonists and to show how much abuse can be present
everywhere. It also denounces the caution and lack of speed of certain authorities and the
strategic manipulation of parents, who are often aware of their actions.
In order to raise awareness, this TV film was broadcast on France 2 and then France 3. It is
important to know that every 5 days, a child dies because of its parents. Anyone can be
confronted with a situation of child abuse, so it is important to know how to act in such cases.
As psychologists, we have a role to play in order to warn a maximum of public (children,
teenagers, adults) by adapting our discourse and by taking preventive action. Indeed, as children
spend most of their time at school, it is essential to raise awareness among teachers as they play
a fundamental role in the detection and prevention of child abuse. It is also important to explain
the steps to be taken (information of concern) when faced with this type of situation. In spite of
our function as psychologists, we are still citizens who are obliged to denounce this kind of
situation if we are confronted with it, at the risk of being prosecuted for not helping a person in
danger. It should be noted that in France, there is a number to call in case of emergency,
dedicated to child victims of abuse, this number is 119 (national telephone service for children
in danger).
Moreover, despite the different forms of abuse (physical, verbal, psychological) that exist,
whatever the form, the consequences are present and lasting (traumatic memory). It is therefore
essential for victims of abuse to have regular therapeutic follow-up, EMDR being an
appropriate technique (a therapy technique that treats trauma by following eye movements).