Enfant placée : ce que révèle mon histoire | Alissa Denissova | TEDxNantes

Quick Overview

The speaker, Alissa Denissova, shares her personal story of being a placed child in Russia and later in France, highlighting the systemic failures and emotional toll of constant relocation, which ultimately led her to found an association to support children in similar situations and advocate for better child protection policies.

Key Points: The speaker, Alissa, was born in Russia and moved to France with her mother at age 5, experiencing 4 displacements across 4 cities and 3 schools during her childhood. She notes that the word 'enfant' (child) comes from the Latin infans, meaning 'one who does not speak,' reflecting how children's voices are often ignored. Statistically, 1 in 4 children in France is estimated to have been a victim of abuse or neglect during childhood, with 77% of children who die from abuse or neglect having prior contact with child services. At age 19, she smoked and felt the anger of being placed away from her father who stayed in Russia, illustrating the emotional chaos caused by instability. The speaker's professional experience as a social worker showed her that even experienced professionals often fail to recognize the urgency of a child's situation, leading to delayed intervention. She started an association to help children in foster care, aiming to provide them with the support, stable environment, and emotional security they need to thrive.

Context: This TEDxNantes talk is a personal narrative delivered by Alissa Denissova, who shares her difficult experiences growing up as a placed child, moving between different environments (Russia and multiple cities in France) and dealing with parental conflict and systemic failures in child protection. She uses her personal history, marked by frequent moves and emotional trauma, to underscore the critical need for proactive and effective support systems for vulnerable children.

Detailed Analysis

Alissa Denissova recounts her life trajectory, starting at age 5 when she moved from Russia to France with her mother, a move that began a pattern of instability involving four displacements across four different cities and three different schools. She points out the irony of the French word for child, enfant (from Latin infans, 'one who does not speak'), as children's voices are often silenced. She shares stark statistics: 1 in 4 children in France experiences abuse or neglect, and 77% of child fatalities due to abuse had prior contact with child services, indicating systemic failure. Her personal timeline illustrates the emotional cost: at age 8, she felt she had a 'normal' childhood despite the moves; at age 12, she faced violence and injustice; at age 16, she rebelled, smoking and dealing with her father's refusal to let her leave Russia legally; and at 19, she was placed away from her father, leading to immense loneliness. She notes that her mother, though responsible, was sometimes unable to guarantee her safety. Realizing the depth of the problem, she co-founded an association to support children in foster care, emphasizing the need for protective measures, stable environments, and education. She concludes by urging the audience to recognize that protection is a shared responsibility and that failing to act quickly often results in children growing up damaged, emphasizing that the stability of children is not guaranteed, and they risk becoming the next generation of adults who fail to protect their own children.