Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sanae Okamoto, Senior Researcher in Behavioural Science and Psychology, United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), United Nations University
Children have the least control over the planet’s future, but will also be the most affected as it changes. They may well feel the mental toll of the “futility gap”: when individual actions feel meaningless against broader societal inaction on the climate crisis.
Promoting healthy psychological agency – the belief that we are in control of our lives – is fundamental here. There are things that we can do to combat the climate crisis. Children should be supported so they don’t lose hope.
Together with our colleague Kariũki Werũ, we’ve created a guide to how adults can help support their healthy psychological development.
Our approach acknowledges the severity of climate change while grounding children in hope. We aim to transform feelings of helplessness into self-efficacy – a belief that they can take action.
At home
To protect a child’s emotional wellbeing and talk about climate facts, adults also need to learn how to talk about climate change with children. This should involve adults listening, learning together and using language appropriate to their child’s age and comprehension. Schools and communities could help parents by providing tips for these conversations.
Monitoring a child’s online activity can safeguard them from traumatic news. Parents can emphasise progress and solutions, and help their children spend time experiencing and enjoying changing weather and the environment.
At school
Schools, educational methods and children’s relationships with teachers and their classmates are core influences on the development of their psychological agency. To promote climate resilience, this could mean moving beyond traditional rote learning towards age-appropriate “critical climate education”. This means empowering students to question existing systems and imagine fundamental transformations, rather than feeling defeated by the status quo.
Nature-based outdoor learning can further strengthen this development. It can both boost mental health and transform abstract climate concepts into tangible experiences. Learning outdoors can stimulate constructive climate conversations, and directly link human actions to environmental and sustainable solutions. Outdoor observations and investigative projects bridge the gap between learning and action.
The world online
Digital climate learning is a powerful catalyst for modern education. It offers interactive and global perspectives on the climate crisis. But it must be managed to address internet “filter bubbles” – when algorithms show viewers only information that aligns with their past interests. This can risk isolating and overwhelming children with repetitive content that affects their wellbeing. When used correctly, digital tools can expand a child’s perspective on climate solutions beyond their local environment.
Blended together
Effective climate education can combine digital learning with hands-on, real-world experiences. When this is supported by educators and caregivers who act as guides – while also leaving enough space for children to explore and create independently – children are able to benefit from both realistic and balanced education. Pioneering programs are blending classroom science with digital tools and outdoor experiments to turn student ideas into tangible community projects.
On a wider scale, climate education needs to bridge the gap between personal responsibility and collective power. The climate narrative should shift its focus from asking “what is wrong?” to “what can we do?” This will empower children with a sense of agency rather than climate anxiety. Social media is a key place where this change can happen.
When used with adult guidance and digital literacy, it can lead to constructive dialogues and evidence-based action. A moderated and positive use of digital tools can help children connect their own awareness to the world around them and drive action on a larger scale to truly tackle the climate crisis.
This can ultimately allow children to share their climate change knowledge and inspire actions among family and friends. They can go on to become influential at school and in their community.
Schools can work together with families, communities and leaders to create a supportive environment for learning about climate. _ Such approach could bridge the gaps between scientific climate facts and real-life experiences by providing the emotional care and practical skills needed to empower_ the climate generations to build a sustainable future together.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The UK has recently seen a resurgence of meningococcal B (MenB) disease, with a cluster of cases in Kent described as “unprecedented” by the health secretary, Wes Streeting. As attention turns from the current MenB outbreak to how to prevent future outbreaks, another challenge is also growing: gonorrhoea is becoming harder to treat as antibiotic resistance rises. These two challenges might seem unrelated, but they are now linked by a single vaccine.
Some sexual health services are using a vaccine originally designed to prevent MenB disease as part of efforts to reduce gonorrhoea. At first glance, that might sound surprising. But the bacteria that cause meningitis and gonorrhoea are closely related, meaning a vaccine targeting one may offer some protection against the other.
This kind of scientific overlap is drawing increasing attention. Developing brand new vaccines from scratch takes years – sometimes decades – and is costly. Repurposing existing ones could offer a faster, more practical route.
The MenB vaccine itself already has a strong public profile in the UK. Campaigns calling for wider access became one of the most signed petitions in UK history. It has helped bring attention to meningococcal disease and shaping public expectations around vaccine availability.
Recommendations about how vaccines are used in the UK are made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which operates within a government-defined framework. Their advice takes into account the burden of disease, vaccine safety and effectiveness, as well as the cost-effectiveness of different immunisation strategies.
Repurposing vaccines
The evidence is still evolving when it comes to gonorrhoea. While earlier studies suggested the MenB vaccine might offer some “cross-protection”, a more recent randomised control trial – the gold standard in medical research – indicates that protection may be lower in people who have previously had gonorrhoea.
This raises important questions about who might benefit the most. If protection is stronger, or longer lasting, in people who have never had the infection, vaccination strategies may need to focus on these groups instead.
Our recent research suggests that people are open to this kind of complexity. In a survey of sexual health service users in the UK, more than 98% supported the introduction of a gonorrhoea vaccine. Many were willing to accept that the vaccine might not be perfect, as long as its benefits were explained clearly and transparently.
That willingness matters. Repurposed vaccines are unlikely to offer complete protection, especially in the early stages. But even partial protection could reduce cases and ease pressure on healthcare systems, particularly for infections like gonorrhoea, where treatment options are narrowing.
At the same time, the context in which this vaccine is being used is changing. The UK is seeing renewed concern about MenB disease, including clusters of cases that have spread quickly. This places the MenB vaccine in an unusual position: it is being deployed simultaneously against a rare but severe infection and a common, increasingly drug-resistant one.
These overlapping pressures may shift how we think about its value. Traditionally, decisions about a national MenB programme have been based on the burden of meningococcal disease alone. But if the same vaccine can also contribute – even partially – to controlling gonorrhoea, the calculation becomes more complex.
In that light, the question is no longer just whether the MenB vaccine is cost-effective for one disease, but whether its combined impact across multiple infections changes the equation altogether.
There are also practical considerations. Vaccine supply, delivery capacity and prioritisation all come into play when a single product is expected to address more than one public health challenge. Expanding its use would require careful planning to avoid displacing more effective or cost-effective interventions.
Not just single-purpose tools
At the same time, this approach highlights a broader shift in biomedical thinking. Vaccines are increasingly being understood not just as single-purpose tools, but as tools that may have wider effects than originally anticipated. As our understanding of pathogens and immune responses deepens, opportunities to reuse or adapt existing drugs and vaccines are likely to grow.
With rising levels of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea alongside renewed concern about MenB, and strong public support for vaccination, the case for wider use of this vaccine may look different to before.
Whether that ultimately leads to routine immunisation will depend on the evolving evidence. But this moment may mark the beginning of a broader shift in how we evaluate vaccines, not just in terms of single diseases, but in terms of their potential to address multiple threats at once.
Charlie Firth receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research
The whole point of Brexit was to change the UK’s relationship with Europe. And one of the less visible shifts has occurred in the financial markets, affecting pension funds and the cost of borrowing.
Before the referendum, when London’s stock market sneezed, Europe caught a cold. Now though, our research suggests that the financial relationship between the UK and the EU has flipped.
The change came after decades of London being the focus of European finance – and what’s known as a “net transmitter” of financial shocks. This meant that changes in London’s stock exchange had an immediate impact on investors in Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. London’s institutional ties to the European single market served as the foundation for this financial leadership.
To see if this level of influence remained after Brexit, we observed daily movements of the stock markets in nine European countries, comparing two five-year periods: before the Brexit vote (2011–2016) and after the UK left the EU (2020–2025).
Our comparison featured a specialist financial metric called a “net volatility spillover score” which measures the difference between the amount of risk (volatility) a specific market transmits and receives from other markets.
The results were stark. Before Brexit, the UK had a net volatility spillover score of +11.8, meaning it sent far more financial turbulence into Europe than it received. After Brexit, that score fell to –5.5. The UK now absorbs more shocks from Europe than it sends, making it a net recipient of volatility.
This is largely down to the fact that European investors stopped reacting to UK market signals as strongly as they once did. The UK’s financial shocks still happen – they just matter less to the rest of the continent.
Meanwhile, over the same period, Germany’s transmitting influence grew by nearly 50%, and Italy transformed from a shock absorber into the second most influential market in the system.
When London was a financial leader in Europe, its market signals shaped how continental investors valued risk across borders. This gave the City extra influence over capital flows, borrowing costs and investment decisions.
Now that influence has weakened, the consequences go far beyond the offices of City traders.
UK firms seeking to raise capital from European investors may face higher costs, because European markets are now less attuned to British price signals. A UK pension fund invested in European equities, for instance, now finds its returns shaped more by what happens in Frankfurt or Milan than by signals from the London market it sits alongside.
And the UK has less sway over the financial conditions that govern cross-border trade and investment – conditions that ultimately feed into jobs, mortgages and the cost of living.
Trading places
The physical infrastructure tells a similar story. After Brexit, more than 440 financial firms moved at least some of their operations from the UK to the EU, taking with them more than £900 billion in bank assets – such as business loans, investment portfolios and cash reserves – worth around 10% of the UK’s banking system.
As part of this transition, London was not replaced by a single city, but by a range of European centres (including Frankfurt, Paris and Dublin) which all absorbed enough activity to reshape the network. And although London is still a major international financial hub, its cross-border ties with Europe have been weakened.
So can London win back its influence? It’s unlikely. This was not a temporary dip caused by market panic. Overall connectivity across European markets barely changed. The European financial network did not shrink – it just reorganised. Countries such as Germany and Italy simply stepped into the space that the UK had vacated.
And although the recent UK-EU summit suggests both sides want closer ties, so far that effort has centred on trade in goods and security rather than financial services. Until the reset reaches the City, London’s diminished role in European markets looks set to stay.
None of this means London is finished as a financial centre. But within the European network, the UK’s role has fundamentally changed.
It has gone from setting the tempo to following the beat from elsewhere. And for a country which built much of its post-industrial economic power around financial services, that’s quite a shift.
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Archie Hill, a final year economics student at Sheffield Hallam University, who was a co-author of the original peer-reviewed research on which this article is based.
Adeola Y. Oyebowale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
It is widely accepted that learning English is essential for many adult migrants who move to the UK. Yet in the last census, over 1 million residents in England and Wales reported not speaking English well or at all.
Over the years, governments have firmly placed the duty to learn English on the newcomer, framing English proficiency as a requirement of integration. Recent migration reform proposals increase the emphasis on English proficiency and progress in deciding who can come to the UK and stay long term.
Experts argue that language learning is not always linear, and that these policies risk turning English into a surveillance tool, rather than a pathway to integration.
Meanwhile, English classes for migrants have become increasingly politicised. In my ongoing PhD research, I have been speaking to learners in English for speakers of other languages (Esol) courses, across a devolved city region in the north of England, to find out what learning English means to them.
I found that, beyond needing English to fulfil immigration requirements, learning the language has helped them build confidence as they navigate public services and their new life in Britain.
Noor* is a qualified civil engineer and maths tutor, originally from Syria and seeking asylum in the UK. She attends a volunteer-led Esol class, as well as courses at a local college, and volunteers in a local charity shop. When I asked her what learning English meant to her, she told me:
English language is in my heart and in my mind, because it is the language of the country that took me in with respect and gave me hope and education and in working in the future … it will enable me to live a good life. And English is the key to our life here.
She felt like she was integrated into her community after attending classes, saying: “I belong. I quickly felt I belong here. Guess why? Because I found peace here.”
Belonging, confidence and family
Belonging was mentioned frequently. Soo-Ah arrived more than ten years ago, moving with her husband’s job from South Korea. She said: “I’m living in England, and I always think English is very important for me.” She explained that her class was not just about learning English as a language, but also as a culture. “I feel like I’m belonging to this country, I feel like connected with it,” she told me.
Bisrat, an Eritrean man seeking asylum after arriving on a small boat, explained, “It’s very safe to live here. Everything is nice here. They welcomed us very well.” He told me that he felt he belonged, and that he hopes to study social work at a university one day.
Improving confidence was mentioned by many interviewed. Learners told me how their class helped them to independently access services such as healthcare. Efehi explained it “helped me a lot, and I’m grateful because I have more confidence in so many things I can do, like speaking, spelling and going for my appointment, so I don’t need anyone to interpret for me”.
Lucia told me: “Since I started in this class, I have grown massively in confidence. Absolutely amazing.”
Some migrants are more confident attending healthcare appointments alone after learning English. Studio Romantic/Shutterstock
Mothers discussed moving to the UK for their children’s education and wanting to support them. Zainab explained that parents’ evening at school, was “so easy for us if we speak English”. Bushra told me she needed to learn English now she lived here, not just for herself, but “for my kids’ future”.
Learners talked about their aspirations, including going to college or wanting to become a teaching assistant, teacher, social worker, sewing machinist or hospital domestic assistant. Shabana told me: “Now I am a housewife, but later on, after finish my courses and better my English, then I definitely want to do job.” Lucia too said: “I need to improve my English. And I found this class which give it a great support to all people like me. I just think [it is] amazing, what they doing for us … helping us to get these levels, which is important to get a job.”
These conversations with learners show that they are not choosing to learn English just because they are told they should. They are not passive. They are actively and pragmatically claiming a voice by adding English to their multilingual repertoires. They accept the importance of learning the dominant language in their new home.
Welcoming new neighbours with empathy and conviviality is key to helping them build a good life in a new country. And understanding their needs, wants and aspirations is fundamental to providing appropriate language support. Rather than just telling them what they should do, we should ask them what they need.
*All names have been changed
Sharon Freeman receives Future 50 Scholarship funding from University of Leicester.
Tropical forests are hot, steamy places. But when large numbers of trees are cut down, they get even hotter. Our recent research shows that clearing large areas of the rainforest exposes hundreds of millions of people to higher temperatures, increasing heat stress (when the body’s way of controlling temperature fails) and, in some cases, contributing to death.
Apart from the shade that the rainforest canopy provides, trees also cool their surroundings by pumping water from the soil into the atmosphere – a process known as evapotranspiration. Like sweat evaporating from our skin, this uses energy and cools the air.
A single large tropical tree provides as much cooling as several air conditioners running continuously. Across the billions of trees in the Amazon or Congo, this “sweating” cools entire regions.
People living in or near tropical forests recognise these cooling benefits. When villagers in rainforest regions in Kalimantan, Indonesia, were interviewed about the benefits tropical forests provide, the most common answer was their ability to keep local temperatures cool.
Despite these benefits, tropical forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. In 2024, more than 6 million hectares of primary tropical forests (nearly the size of Panama) were destroyed, the fastest rate since records began.
Tropical deforestation reduces the cooling effect forests provide, leading to local warming – a pattern well documented by previous studies. But how is this warming affecting the lives of people living near tropical forests?
Deforestation is amplifying heat
To answer this, we used satellite data to track how deforestation has affected temperatures over the past 20 years. Over this period, large areas of forest in the Amazon, Congo and south-east Asia were cleared. We compared temperature changes in deforested regions with nearby areas that retained their forests. Tropical regions that retained their forest cover warmed by an average of 0.2°C. In nearby areas where forests were cleared, temperatures rose by 0.7°C – more than three times as fast. This shows that deforestation results in a dramatic regional amplification of climate warming.
An illustration showing temperature rises based on data collated by the researchers. Author’s own research., CC BY-SA
To understand the impact on local people, we mapped this warming onto information on where people live across the tropics. We found that more than 300 million people were exposed to higher temperatures caused by deforestation. Exposure occurred right across the tropics: 67 million people in Central and South America, 148 million people in Africa and 122 million people in south-east Asia were exposed to warming.
Some countries with rapid rates of deforestation were particularly affected: 49 million people in Indonesia, 42 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 22 million people in Brazil were exposed to hotter temperatures caused by deforestation.
We combined information on the number of people exposed to deforestation-induced warming with region-specific heat vulnerability information and non-accidental death rates. We used this to estimate that the heating from deforestation is linked to around 28,000 heat-related deaths each year across the tropics. This means that over the past 20 years more than half a million people have died from heat-related causes as a result of deforestation.
It is well known that tropical deforestation releases carbon dioxide and this contributes to global climate change. Indeed, arguments for reducing deforestation are often focused on carbon. But despite numerous international pledges, tropical deforestation continues to accelerate.
Recognising the public health impact of deforestation could help broaden support for forest protection. Although the local warming effects of deforestation are well recognised by local people, communities and decision-makers often lack precise data on how much deforestation is increasing temperatures in their area. To address this, we developed an online tool that provides information at province level on the warming linked to deforestation. We hope this locally relevant data will help communities and decision-makers make more informed decisions about managing their forests.
There are some promising new initiatives that recognise the value of tropical forests. Brazil is setting up a new fund that will pay tropical nations to keep their forests intact. It recognises the public services provided by tropical forests – including their ability to regulate local climate – and it rewards countries for protecting them. Some European countries supported the development of this facility but other than Norway, few have yet committed substantial funding. Perhaps given the current global crisis they think it is too far away to affect them, or are prioritising other areas. In doing so they are ignoring potential effects on migration flows, global air quality, loss of biodiversity and food supply chains.
For many years, tropical deforestation has been viewed as an environmental issue. Our research shows that it is also an urgent public health issue. Protecting tropical forests is not just about conserving nature or storing carbon. It is about protecting the health – and lives – of hundreds of millions of people.
Dominick Spracklen receives research funding from the European Research Council and from UK Research and Innovation.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ali Ameli, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia
In a landscape that can flip quickly from soaking up water to sending it downstream, small differences in how wet the wetlands are can be the difference between a manageable spring and a damaging flood.(USFWS Mountain-Prairie), CC BY
In recent years, the Prairies have seen bigger swings in climate conditions — very wet years followed by very dry ones. That makes an already unpredictable landscape even harder to forecast, with real consequences for flood preparedness and water quality.
The challenge is the landscape itself. Much of the Canadian Prairies sit within the Prairie Pothole Region, a landscape dotted with millions of shallow wetlands and depressions. Water doesn’t simply run downhill into a stream, it is stored first. Then, once enough wetlands fill, water begins to spill from one to the next, and only after that does it connect into channels.
Why does this matter now? In a landscape that can flip quickly from soaking up water to connecting it downstream, small differences in how wet the wetlands are can be the difference between a manageable spring season and a damaging flood. The problem is that in many watersheds, we don’t have the local measurements needed to tell whether wetlands are still retaining water or are close to connecting and releasing it downstream.
Across the Canadian Prairies — from southern Alberta through Saskatchewan to Manitoba — streamflow monitoring is sparse, and many watersheds have no gauges. These devices measure water levels and flow rates in rivers and streams, and, less commonly, water levels in wetlands.
Communities in the Red River Basin, the Assiniboine watershed and rural municipalities throughout the Prairie provinces often have limited warning when water conditions shift. This affects flood preparedness, agricultural water management and our understanding of how water is stored and moves through Prairie landscapes, with implications for water quality.
What we see again and again is this: the same rainfall or snowmelt can produce very different streamflow, depending on how much water is already sitting in the network of wetlands.
But understanding the mechanism is not the same as being able to make reliable predictions in an unmeasured watershed. That’s the core problem my colleagues and I tackled in our new study: how to merge Prairie Pothole physics with modern artificial intelligence (AI) so we can estimate both streamflow and wetland water storage in places where measurements are not available.
Predicting streamflow
I’ve spent years working on fill–spill–connection behaviour and why it makes Prairie streamflow so hard to predict. I’ve also studied what happens when wetlands are drained or changed — how some wetlands do a much better job than others at reducing floods, and how losing wetlands can make it harder for the landscape to hold onto water during dry spells.
Many people think predicting streamflow is mostly about inputs: rainfall and, in the Prairie Pothole Region, snowmelt. If a storm is big enough — or if spring melt is large — rivers rise. In many landscapes, that intuition is reasonable. In Prairie Pothole landscapes, it often fails.
Here, a large fraction of rain and snowmelt goes into storage first. Early in spring, much of the meltwater fills wetlands rather than running off directly. Later, after enough filling, pathways “switch on” and water begins moving into channels. The same rain event can produce very different streamflow depending on how full the wetland network already is.
The hard part is determining how full that network is. It isn’t directly observable from standard weather data. Because the system behaves in a threshold-like way, where small changes in how much water is stored in wetlands can trigger large changes in runoff, the Prairie Pothole Region is among the hardest places to predict streamflow.
Previous approaches have each faced limitations. Modelling every wetland in detail requires maps and information that often don’t exist at the scale needed. Relying on AI alone can also struggle, because the key factor — how full the wetlands are — isn’t directly visible in the usual input data.
Combining physics with AI
In our new study, we built a model that embeds fill–spill–connection physics directly into an AI framework, rather than asking AI to learn this behaviour from data alone. Fill–spill–connection physics describes how water fills wetlands, spills once they are full and connects to downstream rivers and streams.
It depends on a few key parameters: how much water the pothole network can hold before spilling, and how quickly the connected area expands as the landscape wets up. We use AI to learn how these parameters vary across the region, shaped by soils, climate and topography. Instead of treating each watershed as a totally separate problem, the model learns regional patterns that can be applied to watersheds without streamflow records.
We tested the approach across 98 watersheds spanning the Prairie Pothole Region. In tests designed to mimic unmeasured watersheds, our model predicted streamflow more reliably than AI models that do not represent these physical processes.
Importantly, it also captured wetland storage dynamics: the year-to-year fluctuations in how much water the pothole network holds. When we compared that storage signal with satellite-based wetland inundation maps, the year-to-year ups and downs lined up well.
What this changes
The same rainfall or snowmelt can produce very different streamflow, depending on how much water is already sitting in the wetland network. (Flickr/USFWS Mountain-Prairie), CC BY
Being able to estimate both flow behaviour and wetland water storage in these watersheds opens practical possibilities.
First, it can support flood preparedness by helping identify when a watershed is getting close to the point where wetlands start to connect and release water downstream. In the Prairie Pothole Region, flood risk isn’t only about how much rain falls in a day. It’s also about whether wetlands are full enough that new water will be routed, not stored.
Second, it can help describe how watersheds differ across the Prairies: which areas tend to hold onto water longer, which connect more easily and where streamflow is likely to be more variable from year to year. That kind of regional picture is difficult to build when monitoring is sparse.
Third, it offers a bridge between process understanding and modern data-driven tools. This is not AI replacing hydrology, it is hydrology making AI more reliable in places where the mechanism matters.
For Prairie communities and land managers working in watersheds without gauges, better predictions of when water will be stored — and when it will connect and flow — would be a practical step forward.
Ali Ameli receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The commission was struck following a series of high-profile cases of abuse and maltreatment in sport. These involved Swimming Canada, Gymnastics Canada and most notably Hockey Canada.
Although the commission was initiated ostensibly to investigate abuse, maltreatment and safety, its recommendations go much further.
They suggest sweeping governance reforms to the Canadian sport system. Calls for system-wide change have been made since the early stages of this process.
A fragmented system that enables harm
The commission has made 98 calls to action to address safe sport and system alignment. The calls are wide-ranging and suggest the need for system-wide structural and governance reforms.
The report is framed around several key issues.
The commission identified that abuse and maltreatment are widespread, systemic and ongoing in Canadian sport. They noted that power imbalances within the sport system have created a culture of silence that allows harmful behaviours to continue. They also noted that the sport system is fragmented and disorganized, and that chronic underfunding has made attempts at change ineffective.
Broadly, they suggested that these and other issues have made sport participation increasingly inaccessible and out of reach for many Canadians.
The commission also acknowledged that issues of access and safety in sport disproportionately affect equity-deserving groups.
As such, they acknowledged the need to support Indigenous-led sport programs and to improve representation of women, people with disabilities and people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds within leadership and governance.
Plans to fix sport is clear — execution isn’t
While the commission made 98 calls to action, we review only a few themes here. Many of these recommendations were released and discussed in the context of the preliminary report; the final report solidifies some important details on the commission’s recommendations moving forward.
The commission called for four national strategies: one for sport infrastructure, one for equity, diversity and inclusion, one for disability sport and one for participation. Each strategy would require a concrete action plan with progress tracked and evaluated.
The commission also called for the development of a national tool for tracking sport and physical activity data, an approach that other countries have had in place for decades. They aptly note that effective monitoring, evaluation and policymaking must be supported by reliable data.
Abuse and maltreatment in sport demand a co-ordinated national response.
The commission was unequivocal about this need. It acknowledged the progress already made on safe sport but was clear that good intentions are no longer enough. What’s needed now is deliberate, co-ordinated action: a multilateral sport framework alongside bilateral funding agreements with provinces and territories.
At the centre of the safe sport recommendations is the need for a fully independent, streamlined complaint mechanism and consistent screening processes agreed upon across jurisdictions.
The commission was clear that structural change must be matched by cultural change. This must be backed by a public awareness campaign and a centralized safe sport education program.
The commission also recommended sweeping structural reforms. They called for the creation of a Crown corporation to improve arm’s-length oversight, system alignment and universal governance standards.
Sport organizations, it argued, must stop operating in silos. That means merging vertically and horizontally, adopting shared service models and subjecting themselves to efficiency reviews.
The commission was unambiguous on funding: investment has been wholly inadequate. It called for a multi-year funding strategy addressing safety, access and inclusion in sport.
Critically, budgets need to be adjusted for inflation without delay, and backed by transitional funding to ease the shift.
Why reform may stall — again
So what could this mean for sport in Canada?
Much of the lengthy report is background information that scholars have long been writing about. Advocates were raising concerns about harassment and abuse in sport long before the development of our first national sport policy in 2002.
As such, the details in this report will be of no surprise to those involved in sport.
The real question that will determine the impact of this report comes down to accountability. The commission has made many potentially impactful recommendations, but it’s also recognized that these recommendations are almost exclusively directed at the federal government.
However, sport exists in a system where much of the change will need to take place at the provincial, territorial and community levels.
The report acknowledges the complexity of change within Canada’s federated multilevel governance system. Tellingly, it heard directly from insiders who doubted reform was possible if the same people remained at the table. The structural fix of a new Crown corporation is aimed at enforcing accountability and leadership change.
Will this government take bold and decisive action to address these recommendations? Will it commit the resources necessary to facilitate governance reform? Will it exercise political leverage to get provinces and territories on board? And importantly, will future governments continue this work in the long term?
Many Canadians will recall the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 94 Calls to Action that were published in 2015. Recent tracking suggests that after 10 years, progress on 45 per cent of those calls is currently stalled or not started. This doesn’t bode well for a new set of calls to action in exceptionally turbulent times.
Ultimately, change will require more than policy change. It demands political will at every level of government and a public willing to push for it.
Kyle Rich receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Laura Misener receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
The electric bike on the road in Kenya.Photo: Lewis Seymour, CC BY
Across much of Africa, motorcycles are not leisure vehicles. They are workhorses. They carry commuters, schoolchildren, goods, medicines and deliveries. For millions of people, they provide the most affordable and accessible form of transport, while also creating livelihoods for riders and small businesses.
As part of a team of electrical and industrial engineers at Stellenbosch University, I work (and go on adventures!) to see if that share can be increased.
When our team rode a locally manufactured electric motorbike from Kenya to South Africa in 2024, charging it with only solar power and battery storage along the way, we were not only testing a vehicle. We were testing whether Africa could build and power its own electric mobility future.
The journey covered roughly 6,000km via cities, rural roads and border posts, showing that electric two-wheelers are not a distant dream for sub-Saharan Africa. They are already practical, and they point to a much bigger opportunity.
Feasible transition
Electric motorcycles with battery swapping fit the realities of mobility demand in African countries: relatively short daily trips, constant use, tight operating margins and the need for low-cost transport. It’s already been estimated that electrifying this segment will reduce total cost of ownership for riders by 35%-40%, improve urban air quality, cut greenhouse gas emissions and lower dependence on imported fuel.
Our own research suggests this transition is both technically and economically feasible.
Together, these findings suggest that electric micromobility in Africa is not only technically viable, but can be paired with local solar systems in ways that improve affordability, resilience and access.
An industrial opportunity
Africa should not simply become a market for electric vehicles designed and manufactured elsewhere. It should become a place where they are built, adapted and improved for African conditions. The continent’s mobility needs are specific. Vehicles must cope with rough roads, heavier loads, long operating hours and uneven access to charging. A motorcycle designed for Europe or Asia is not always right for a boda-boda rider in Kenya or a delivery rider in South Africa.
In one study, we developed and validated a physics-based model twin of an electric motorcycle under African operating conditions, showing that energy use can be predicted with good accuracy from real trips, terrain and payload. This digital twin can be used in virtual assessments of electric fleet deployments.
Local production would also create local jobs. It can create opportunities in assembly, fabrication, battery integration, electronics, software, data analytics, servicing and charging infrastructure. It would give young engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs a foothold in an industry that is already growing quickly.
But that growth will not happen on its own. It needs policy support. Ethiopia banned imports of internal combustion engine vehicles in 2024. This rapidly accelerated EV adoption and altered the economics of vehicle imports. South Africa’s belated 150% tax incentive for local electric vehicle production is a step in the right direction.
Tapping into local resources
Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the best solar resources in the world. At the same time, many communities still face unreliable grid electricity or no access at all. That may sound like a barrier to electrified transport, but it is also an opportunity.
Compared with large cars or buses, small vehicle batteries are far easier to charge from decentralised solar systems. Solar-powered charging points, battery swap stations, mini-grids and storage systems can all support electric motorcycles where conventional infrastructure is weak.
Charging has already been demonstrated on solar-hybrid mini-grids, particularly for rural electric two-wheelers, with documented cases in Nigeria and operator-led deployments in Sierra Leone.
Our research has found that decentralised solar can help power this transition: a school-centred solar trading model serving households and electric motorbikes achieved payback periods of under five years in favourable cases and improved supply reliability for external users by about 60%.
This matters especially in rural and peri-urban areas, where mobility poverty is often most severe. A locally manufactured electric motorcycle charged with solar power is more than a cleaner vehicle. It is a tool for inclusion. It can improve access to jobs, education, healthcare and markets while reducing exposure to fuel price shocks.
That is why this transition should not be framed only as a climate issue. It is a development issue.
Policy needs
African governments must make it easier to produce and sell electric vehicles locally. At present, many local manufacturers face the strange situation where importing a finished vehicle is cheaper and simpler than building one domestically. High duties on components, inconsistent regulations, costly certification, weak access to finance and uncertain policy signals all work against local industry.
If governments are serious about industrial development, electric micromobility is a practical place to start. Support could include lower tariffs on components for local assembly, tax incentives for domestic manufacturing, development finance, clear technical standards and public procurement policies that create dependable demand. The aim should not be permanent protection, but smart support that helps African firms scale and compete.
Governments must support cross-border collaboration. Africa’s challenges are shared, but our responses are often fragmented. Countries create separate standards, separate pilot projects and separate industrial plans, even when their transport needs and energy constraints are remarkably similar. This duplication makes progress slower and more expensive.
Many African borders were imposed in colonial times. They do not reflect the deeper connections between economies, people or problems. Fuel insecurity, unemployment, poor public transport, congestion and unreliable electricity are not isolated national problems. They are regional realities. The response should therefore also be regional.
That means harmonised standards, easier trade in locally made vehicles and components, shared research platforms and coordinated industrial policy. A larger, more integrated African market would help manufacturers scale up, reduce costs and justify investment in skills and supply chains. It would also allow innovations developed in one country to spread more quickly across the continent.
Electric mobility policy must be linked to energy policy, especially solar energy.
From talk to action
Our journey from Nairobi to Stellenbosch, now told in our seven-episode documentary series, Recharging Hope, was not a publicity stunt. It was a practical demonstration that locally made electric motorbikes, powered by solar energy, can work across African roads and real African conditions. The question is no longer whether this future is possible. It is whether policy and investment will help Africa build it for itself.
With the right policies, partnerships and investment, electric micromobility can help the region move people more affordably, build local industry more confidently and use the power of the African sun more fully.
Africa’s mobility future should be built in Africa and powered by its own abundant renewable energy.
MJ (Thinus) Booysen receives funding from the Western Cape Government Motorised Transport (GMT) and South Africa’s Transport Education Training Authority (TETA).
Les systèmes agroforestiers, comme TRAILS, permettent de documenter des travaux combinant productivité et biodiversité.Alain Rival/Cirad, Fourni par l’auteur
On estime qu’un produit de supermarché sur deux contient aujourd’hui de l’huile de palme. À l’heure où il semble difficile de se passer de cette ressource, une chose reste néanmoins possible et même prometteuse : pratiquer l’agroforesterie pour que les plantations de palmiers à huile ne soient plus une menace pour la biodiversité.
La culture du palmier à huile est fréquemment associée à la déforestation tropicale et à l’érosion de la biodiversité. De fait, en Asie du Sud-Est, l’expansion rapide des plantations industrielles au cours des dernières décennies a profondément transformé les paysages, fragmentant les forêts et réduisant l’habitat d’espèces emblématiques, comme les orangs-outans ou les éléphants de Bornéo. Cette trajectoire a durablement ancré l’idée selon laquelle la production d’huile de palme serait fondamentalement incompatible avec la conservation de la nature.
Cette opposition entre production agricole et biodiversité repose toutefois en grande partie sur un modèle agricole spécifique, celui de la monoculture intensive. Elle tend à masquer l’existence d’alternatives pionnières, capables de concilier production et fonctions écologiques dans les paysages tropicaux.
Ces autres façons de produire de l’huile de palme sont pourtant cruciales à développer à l’heure où le palmier à huile reste la culture oléagineuse la plus productive au monde. À surface égale, il produit en moyenne 4 à 10 fois plus d’huile que le soja, le colza ou le tournesol. Remplacer l’huile de palme par ces alternatives nécessiterait donc beaucoup plus de terres agricoles, avec un risque de déplacer la déforestation plutôt que de la réduire.
Par ailleurs, la demande mondiale en huiles végétales reste très élevée et continue de croître, portée par des usages alimentaires, cosmétiques et industriels en pleine expansion. Dans ce contexte, une sortie totale de l’huile de palme apparaît difficile à court terme.
L’enjeu principal n’est donc pas seulement de substituer une huile à une autre, mais de transformer les modes de production du palmier à huile qui ont peu changé depuis le début du XXᵉ siècle.
Les fragilités du modèle dominant
Introduite en Asie du Sud-Est à l’époque coloniale par les puissances européennes, la culture du palmier à huile – originaire d’Afrique de l’Ouest – a ensuite été largement développée en Indonésie et en Malaisie selon des modèles agricoles intensifs hérités de cette période. Les plantations conventionnelles sont ainsi conçues pour maximiser les rendements à court terme, en reposant sur des peuplements très homogènes et une forte intensification des pratiques. Cette simplification des écosystèmes s’accompagne toutefois d’effets négatifs bien documentés : appauvrissement des sols, pollution des eaux, dépendance accrue aux engrais et aux pesticides chimiques, perte d’habitats pour la faune et la flore
ainsi qu’une plus grande vulnérabilité aux parasites et ravageurs. Ces derniers peuvent entraîner des pertes de rendement importantes, de l’ordre de 30 % en moyenne lorsque les populations ne sont pas maîtrisées.
Avec le changement climatique, ces fragilités deviennent plus visibles. L’augmentation des températures, la multiplication des vagues de chaleur et la variabilité accrue des précipitations exposent les plantations à des stress thermiques et hydriques croissants. Dans ce contexte, la question n’est plus seulement de freiner l’expansion agricole, mais aussi de transformer, afin de les rendre plus robustes face au changement climatique, les plantations existantes, qui occupent déjà des millions d’hectares en zone tropicale.
L’agroforesterie comme voie alternative
L’agroforesterie, qui associe arbres et cultures agricoles sur une même parcelle, est reconnue pour sa capacité à concilier production agricole et maintien des fonctions écologiques vitales. De nombreux travaux montrent que les systèmes agroforestiers tropicaux peuvent héberger une biodiversité relativement élevée, notamment pour les oiseaux et les insectes, tout en assurant des niveaux de production significatifs, par exemple dans les plantations indonésiennes de cacao.
Contrairement à l’idée selon laquelle biodiversité et productivité seraient nécessairement antagonistes, certaines agroforêts tropicales atteignent des niveaux de rendement élevés tout en conservant une diversité biologique conséquente – parfois même supérieure à celle de forêts dégradées environnantes pour certains groupes, comme les chauves-souris ou les plantes non vascularisées (fougères, mousses). Ces résultats ont contribué à renouveler le regard porté sur les plantations tropicales, longtemps considérées comme incompatibles avec les objectifs de conservation.
Tester l’agroforesterie dans les plantations de palmiers à huile
Appliquée au palmier à huile, l’agroforesterie reste encore peu développée à grande échelle. Les craintes d’une baisse de rendement, la complexité technique des systèmes à mettre en place, et les contraintes de gestion expliquent en partie cette situation. C’est précisément pour tester ces hypothèses à l’échelle réelle qu’a été lancé le projet Transitionning to Agroecological Innovative Landscapes in Sabah, East Malaysia (TRAILS), d’agroforesterie à taille réelle.
Le projet couvre 38 hectares (ha) d’essais installés dans une plantation commerciale de 8 000 ha, dans le bassin de la rivière Kinabatangan, dans l’État de Sabah, dans la partie malaisienne de l’île de Bornéo. Il s’appuie sur des dispositifs de plantation spécifiquement conçus pour le palmier à huile, combinant différentes densités et différents types d’associations d’arbres forestiers natifs afin d’optimiser à la fois les performances agronomiques et les fonctions écologiques des plantations.
Les pépinières d’espèces forestières natives alimentent l’ensemble des projets de reforestation du bassin de la Kinabatangan. Fourni par l’auteur
Contrairement à l’image classique de cultures poussant à l’ombre de grands arbres, les palmiers à huile forment déjà une canopée relativement basse et régulière. L’agroforesterie consiste ici à introduire d’autres espèces d’arbres au sein des parcelles, soit entre les rangées, soit en petits groupes, afin de créer une végétation plus diversifiée et structurée en plusieurs étages. On obtient ainsi un paysage où les palmiers coexistent avec des arbres de tailles et de formes variées, rompant avec l’uniformité des plantations conventionnelles. La question de la compétition pour la lumière est centrale, elle va conduire à des choix d’espèces aux architectures complémentaires : certaines laissent filtrer la lumière, d’autres occupent des strates différentes de la canopée.
Des schémas de plantation innovants
Les systèmes agroforestiers testés dans le cadre du projet TRAILS reposent de fait sur des schémas de plantation innovants. Les espèces forestières sont sélectionnées pour leur compatibilité écologique avec le palmier à huile, leur architecture et leur capacité à structurer l’espace sans entrer en compétition excessive pour la lumière, l’eau ou les nutriments. Les espèces introduites sont choisies pour leur complémentarité avec le palmier à huile.
Dans la vallée de la Kinabatangan, des projets de restauration menés notamment par différents intervenants locaux, comme la coopérative villageoise Kopel ou l’ONG Hutan, utilisent des espèces locales, comme Octomeles sumatrana (binuang), Nauclea sp. ou des figuiers (Ficus). Certaines ont une croissance rapide et améliorent le microclimat, d’autres tolèrent les sols inondés ou développent des racines profondes, limitant la compétition pour l’eau et les nutriments.
Ces arbres permettent de moduler l’ombrage, d’améliorer les microclimats et de diversifier la structure verticale des plantations. Les figuiers fournissent des ressources alimentaires clés pour la faune tout au long de l’année. Ces choix de conception jouent un rôle déterminant dans les performances attendues du système : elles font l’objet d’analyses détaillées dans les travaux récents menés au Sabah.
Productivité et biodiversité : un compromis moins difficile qu’attendu
L’une des principales interrogations concernant l’intégration de l’agroforesterie dans les plantations de palmiers à huile porte sur son impact potentiel sur la productivité. Les premiers résultats obtenus au Sabah montrent que les palmiers cultivés en association avec des arbres forestiers peuvent maintenir, dans les stades précoces étudiés jusqu’à présent, des niveaux de production comparables à ceux des monocultures conventionnelles.
L’intégration d’arbres dans les plantations, qu’il s’agisse de palmiers à huile ou d’autres cultures, modifie sensiblement le microclimat des parcelles. La présence d’une végétation plus diversifiée et stratifiée permet de réduire les températures au sol de 2 à 5 °C, grâce à l’ombrage et à l’évapotranspiration des arbres, tout en maintenant une humidité plus élevée et en limitant l’évaporation de l’eau dans les sols. Les arbres jouent également un rôle de brise-vent, réduisant la vitesse du vent et l’érosion. L’ensemble de ces effets atténue les stress hydriques et thermiques et renforce la résilience des cultures face aux aléas climatiques.
En parallèle, les bénéfices pour la biodiversité sont significatifs. Plus de 60 espèces d’oiseaux ont été recensées dans les parcelles agroforestières, contre généralement moins de 20 à 30 espèces dans les plantations de palmiers à huile conventionnelles, souvent dominées par quelques espèces généralistes. L’augmentation de la diversité végétale au sein des plantations favorise, pour sa part, la présence d’oiseaux et d’autres groupes faunistiques qui contribue à restaurer certaines fonctions écologiques, comme la régulation des insectes ravageurs ou la dispersion des graines, dans des paysages fortement fragmentés. Dans des régions comme la Kinabatangan, ces systèmes plus complexes peuvent également améliorer la qualité de l’habitat et la connectivité écologique pour certaines espèces, en complément des forêts restantes.
Comme l’a souligné un article récent, les dispositifs agroforestiers pourraient rendre les paysages dominés par le palmier à huile plus favorables aux déplacements de la faune sauvage. Ces espaces peuvent notamment bénéficier à des espèces en danger d’extinction, telles que les orangs-outans, les éléphants ou les macaques, capables de traverser des plantations, mais aussi à des animaux moins emblématiques, tels que les civettes, ou encore à de nombreux oiseaux forestiers et chauves-souris, qui utilisent ces zones comme habitats intermédiaires ou corridors entre fragments de forêt.
Un levier face au changement climatique
Au-delà de ses effets positifs sur la biodiversité, l’agroforesterie constitue également un levier important d’adaptation au changement climatique dans les plantations tropicales. L’intégration d’arbres au sein des parcelles permet de réduire les températures au sol, d’améliorer la rétention d’eau dans les sols et de limiter l’érosion, contribuant ainsi à renforcer la résilience des systèmes agricoles face aux perturbations climatiques.
Ces aménagements peuvent aussi améliorer les conditions de travail dans les plantations, notamment en apportant de l’ombre et en atténuant l’exposition des travailleurs à des chaleurs extrêmes, un enjeu sanitaire de plus en plus important dans les régions tropicales. En effet, les travailleurs agricoles sont directement confrontés aux effets du changement climatique : températures plus élevées, pluies plus irrégulières ou périodes de sécheresse plus fréquentes rendent le travail en plein air encore plus pénible. Ces conditions peuvent également affecter la productivité des cultures, ce qui accentue la précarité économique des travailleurs et la vulnérabilité des filières agricoles.
Les plants de pépinières font l’objet d’une attention particulière auprès des groupes de femmes du projet TRAILS. Alain Rival, Cirad, Fourni par l’auteur
Ces activités sont accompagnées de formations techniques en agroforesterie et en gestion durable des terres, contribuant au renforcement des compétences locales et à la diversification des moyens de subsistance dans une zone rurale assez isolée. Cette implication continue des communautés locales est essentielle pour garantir l’appropriation des systèmes agroforestiers et leur pérennité à long terme.
La plaine de la Kinabatangan est un hotspot de biodiversité désormais intégré à la Kinabatangan Biosphere Reserve (KBR) de l’Unesco. Alain Rival, Cirad, Fourni par l’auteur
Vers des paysages multifonctionnels
La reconnaissance de la plaine de la Kinabatangan comme réserve de biosphère de l’Unesco souligne l’importance de modèles agricoles capables de s’articuler avec des objectifs de conservation à l’échelle du paysage (Unesco, 2023).
Les approches agroforestières expérimentées au Sabah s’inscrivent pleinement dans cette logique intégrée. Sans remplacer les forêts tropicales intactes, les systèmes agroforestiers à base de palmiers à huile peuvent contribuer à transformer les paysages agricoles en leviers complémentaires de conservation et de résilience écologique.
Cet article a été réalisé avec Isabelle Lackman, de l’ONG Hutan, et Sempe Burhan, de la Melangking Oil Palm Plantations.
Alain Rival a reçu des financements Le Fonds de solidarité pour les projets innovants (FSPI), un dispositif de financement ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères.
Le projets TRAILS recoit le soutien financier de l’APF (Alliance pour la Protection des Forets), ainsi que des sociétés Ferrero et Saint Hubert.
Denis Fabre, Marc Ancrenaz et Philippe Guizol ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.
Les conséquences des violences conjugales ne s’arrêtant pas à la porte des entreprises, certaines d’entre elles les ont intégrées dans leur politique de diversité, d’égalité et d’inclusion. Panorama des outils proposés par certaines firmes du CAC 40.
Parmi les victimes de violences conjugales, nombreuses sont celles qui occupent un emploi. Quand elles partent travailler, elles quittent le domicile et leur agresseur. Face à cette évidence, le milieu professionnel peut constituer un espace de protection, de ressources et de socialisation. En conséquence, il peut aussi devenir un acteur à part entière de la lutte contre les violences conjugales.
Les violences conjugales passent la porte de l’entreprise
Dans toute organisation, il existe inévitablement des personnes confrontées à des violences conjugales. Ces violences ont des répercussions significatives sur la vie professionnelle. Elles peuvent entraîner des retards, des absences répétées, une baisse de concentration, une fatigue chronique ou encore une diminution de la qualité du travail. Les relations avec les collègues ou avec l’encadrement peuvent également se dégrader parce que la personne victime se trouve en situation d’épuisement psychologique, émotionnel ou physique. La victime risque d’ailleurs d’être perçue comme un ou une collègue moins fiable.
La convention d’Istanbul rappelle que les violences faites aux femmes ne relèvent pas de simples conflits privés, mais qu’elles constituent l’expression d’un système où la domination, la discrimination et les stéréotypes de genre créent un terrain favorable à l’emprise et à la violence. Ces violences sont à la fois la cause et la conséquence des inégalités entre les femmes et les hommes. Elles s’enracinent dans des rapports de pouvoir déséquilibrés et contribuent, en retour, à limiter l’autonomie personnelle, économique et professionnelle des femmes.
Pour une organisation, ne pas intégrer ce sujet dans sa stratégie d’égalité, de diversité et d’inclusion revient à ignorer un obstacle important et invisible à l’égalité réelle. Depuis quelques années, plusieurs grands groupes (dont Kering, L’Oréal, BNP Paribas, Carrefour, SNCF et EDF) se sont engagés dans des initiatives collectives comme le réseau OneInThreeWomen, créé en 2018, qui incite les employeurs à inscrire la prise en charge des violences conjugales dans leur stratégie de diversité et d’inclusion.
Des bonnes pratiques
Plusieurs organisations, en France et à l’international, ont déjà intégré la lutte contre les violences conjugales dans leurs engagements en matière d’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes. Voici quelques axes d’action issus de ces retours d’expérience.
De grandes entreprises ont lancé des campagnes de sensibilisation en interne (affichages, newsletters spécifiques, podcasts…) pour faire connaître l’ampleur du problème et les ressources disponibles. Certaines formations ciblent les managers, le personnel RH, les services sociaux ou de santé au travail, afin de mieux repérer les signaux d’alerte et réagir correctement. De son côté, Kering a choisi de sensibiliser progressivement tous ses collaborateurs, du vendeur en boutique jusqu’aux membres du comité exécutif, en s’appuyant sur des associations spécialisées.
BNP Paribas, avec son pôle d’action sociale au sein des RH, intègre les violences conjugales dans l’écoute des collaborateurs en difficulté. Ce type de service interne permet de briser l’isolement de la victime en lui proposant écoute, conseils et orientation vers les associations spécialisées.
« Le maintien dans l’emploi est une priorité absolue », déclare BNP Paribas, qui peut par exemple proposer à une victime un changement de site géographique si sa sécurité l’exige. Chez EDF, les services sociaux sont aussi au centre des dispositifs à destination des victimes de violences conjugales, et peuvent permettre la demande de mesures de soutien comme un hébergement temporaire ou des aides financières.
Certaines entreprises ont choisi d’accorder les jours d’absences rémunérées ; par exemple, trois jours d’absence rémunérés à La Poste pour effectuer les démarches (dépôt de plainte, rendez-vous médicaux, relogement…) nécessaires. Outre les congés, la flexibilité du temps de travail peut aussi être cruciale : aménagement d’horaires afin de permettre à la personne de disposer de temps pour les démarches inhérentes aux violences.
Un écosystème de soutien
Souvent, les victimes ne savent pas vers qui se tourner pour obtenir de l’aide, tandis que les entreprises, de leur côté, ne disposent pas toujours de l’expertise nécessaire. C’est pourquoi certains groupes établissent des partenariats avec des associations spécialisées pour orienter les salariées concernées vers des professionnel·les formé·es et proposer des interventions, formations ou ateliers de sensibilisation. En unissant leurs forces avec le tissu associatif, les employeurs contribuent à créer un écosystème de soutien autour de la victime.
Certains partenariats vont plus loin, c’est le cas entre EDF et l’association FIT Une femme, un toit, avec la réalisation de recherche-action et la co-construction de dispositifs adaptés aux réalités de terrain et enrichis par l’expertise associative, ce qui permet à l’entreprise et à l’association de monter en compétences mutuellement.
Ministère chargé de l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, 2024.
Formaliser l’engagement et garantir de nouveaux droits
Certaines entreprises inscrivent leur engagement dans leurs politiques RH avec la signature d’une charte – qu’elle soit interne à l’entreprise ou interentreprises, par exemple la charte OneInThreeWomen.
D’autres entreprises ont fait le choix de l’intégration des violences conjugales dans les accords collectifs relatifs à l’égalité professionnelle entre les femmes et les hommes, ce qu’ont fait des entreprises pionnières, comme Orange, EDF, SNCF, Korian, La Poste, Carrefour, Legrand. Ces engagements négociés avec les partenaires sociaux garantissent de nouveaux droits et les moyens alloués, ils témoignent de la vision partagée entre direction et syndicats de la reconnaissance des conséquences professionnelles des violences conjugales et du rôle du milieu professionnel auprès des victimes.
Considérer les violences conjugales comme un objet à part entière des politiques d’égalité, de diversité et d’inclusion constitue une évolution culturelle majeure dans le monde du travail.
Cela suppose de reconnaître que les violences conjugales ne relèvent pas uniquement de la sphère personnelle ou sociétale, mais qu’elles constituent également un enjeu organisationnel. Il s’agit dès lors d’un nouveau défi managérial, dans la continuité des engagements en faveur de l’égalité entre femmes et hommes, qui doit permettre, en partenariat avec les politiques publiques de lutte contre les violences et les associations féministes spécialistes de l’accompagnement des victimes, de construire un environnement favorable à la sortie des violences.
Séverine Lemière est membre de l’association FIT une femme un toit. Elle mène des recherches-actions avec EDF.
Olga Lelebina ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
