Guitar and maracas in hand, Tappo and Zaza enter on tiptoe into the waiting hall of the Pediatric Reception Unit for Children at Risk (UAPED) in Orleans.
Wearing red noses and colorful costumes, the actors from Rire medecin, whose real names are Mattia Furlan and Sophie Jude, begin their contact with Emma (name changed), 6 years old, before she begins being treated in the department.
"If she applauds, it means we have a chance of a career in Las Vegas, but if she sulks at our show, we'll definitely end up in Vierzon," jokes Mattia.
A few minutes earlier, the pair had made a communication with the medical secretary of the unit in order to find out the reason for the child's arrival.
The explanation is brief and concise: "Sexual assault committed by her grandfather, she is accompanied by her parents."
From this single indication, the two clowns must now adapt their approach to the game with the little girl before she enters the hearing room where a police officer will be responsible for taking her testimony.
Founded in 2013, the Orleans hospital center's service provides multidisciplinary care to children and adolescents who are victims of domestic and extra-domestic abuse: here, psychologists, doctors, nurses, police officers and social workers work hand in hand on a daily basis.
"Our goal is to carry out as many procedures as possible at the same time and place so that the child has to repeat their story as few times as possible, because these are often quite traumatic stories," explained Barbara Tisseron, forensic pathologist and pediatrician in charge of the UAPED, during an interview with AFP in June.
For ten years now, the forensic team has been working closely with the 13 clowns of Rire Médecin in the region, on the initiative of the manager.
"Clowns and I have been in love for over 25 years," she says with a moved smile. She recalls her first collaboration with the association, which was founded in 1991, when she was head of a clinic in Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis.
Involving actors before and after the care of children and adolescents at the UAPED in Orleans seemed obvious to the pediatrician.
"Before being child victims, they are children who have the right to a time of respite from their suffering, a time of hope and a time of good treatment," she maintains.
-Assess the emotional state-
In a fuchsia dress with strawberry and polka dot prints on the back, Sophie Jude, who joined Rire Médecin over twenty years ago, adds the finishing touch to her costume by placing a pink cap on her head.
Unlike their interventions in pediatric wards, where the objective is to provoke laughter or wonder in hospitalized children, the role of clowns at UAPED is "to try to relax the child before their hearing but also to assess their emotional state and that of their companions," explains Sophie.
"Given the work carried out by UAPED, we had to put aside the classic clown duo bickering and pretending to fight, in favor of a bubble of gentleness and complicity," confirms Mattia Furlan.
After this initial contact, the pair summarizes their exchange with the child to the care team, for whom this feedback is valuable clues on how to approach the victim.
"Their presence helps to relieve the pressure and create a bond between each person involved in the child care process," emphasizes Marie-Laure Toulme, a nurse in the unit, before pointing out that often, the little ones "will remember the time with the clowns rather than the somewhat difficult moment of the audition or the exam."
At UAPED, with more than twenty members, including the clowns, "each one is a link in the chain that represents this little family," which allows the child, upon leaving the service, to experience "the beginning of resilience."
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