Politics, the choice of the week
Political parties and sexual violence
Audio 03:07
Minister Damien Abad, in charge of Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People, is accused by two women of rape.
Facts he denies.
Paris, May 23, 2022. © AFP/Ludovic Marin
By: Lucile Gimberg Follow
2 mins
The right, the camp of Emmanuel Macron and the left of Jean-Luc Mélenchon have been shaken in recent weeks by cases, presumed or confirmed, of violence against women.
Damien Abad, Jérôme Peyrat, Taha Bouhafs... All these cases refer to a key question: what do political parties do in the face of sexual and gender-based violence?
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It is clear that political parties can do better in managing cases of sexual and gender-based violence.
They often react only when faced with controversy and media pressure.
The most advanced are the ecologists.
And for good reason, Europe Écologie-Les Verts experienced an earthquake in 2016 with the Baupin affair.
The deputy and vice-president of the National Assembly, Denis Baupin, has been implicated by more than a dozen women from his party for acts of harassment and sexual assault over nearly 15 years.
The justice dismissed without further action for prescription, but it corroborated these accusations.
Since then, to fight against the law of silence, the Greens have set up a listening body, and above all an investigative body.
On the side of La France insoumise, a commission dedicated to the collection of testimonies exists.
In one big year, each of these bodies handled around ten reports.
As for the Socialists, shaken by a case in Paris, a similar commission is being created.
At La République en Marche, there is a specific platform, but only one report has been processed in a year.
As for the right, it has no dedicated body.
It is the secretary general of the party, Aurélien Pradié, who takes care of these questions.
Three cases came to him, including that of the former president of Young LR, dismissed after accusations of sexual assault, of which he was finally cleared.
“
It is not because there is a specific body that it goes better, it is justice and the police who must be able to better collect the voice of women
”, justifies the deputy LR Pierre-Henri Dumont.
Exemplary
Can political parties replace justice?
Of course not, justice must do its job.
But there is also a duty to set an example for politicians.
Experience has also shown that the existence of dedicated, independent bodies, whose composition and functioning are known, and made up of trained personalities, facilitates the voice of victims.
The elected LR of Paris, Nelly Garnier, active on these questions, advocates for example the creation of transpartisan commissions in all political assemblies, at national and local level.
The Catholic Church did it for child crime.
And companies are increasingly evolving in the face of their obligation to prevent and act in the event of gender-based violence.
So why not political parties?
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