Lawyer, expert or bailiff fees… For women victims of sexual violence, “seeking justice is not free”, denounces the Women's Foundation in a study published on Thursday.
"No, three times no, the victims of sexual violence do not file a complaint for money", asserts in this report the president of the Foundation, Anne-Cécile Mailfert.
On the contrary, “their approach is often at the cost of increased financial and psychological vulnerability,” she adds.
Especially since "talking, filing a complaint and paying large sums to seek justice are (…) in no way guarantees of obtaining it", observe Lucile Peytavin and Lucile Quillet, the two authors of the study, published in the eve of the international day for the elimination of violence against women.
📣 "No, three times no, victims of violence do not file a complaint for money" @AnneCMailfert
"5 years after #MeToo: the cost of justice for victims of sexual violence", between obstacles and dead ends - @lucilepeytavin @Lucile_Quillet https://t.co/C6KXlHCdUE pic.twitter.com/FRUvB4XQh1
— Women's Foundation (@Women's Foundation) November 24, 2022
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What are the ways to reduce the cost of procedures?
The report takes as an example the fictitious case of Julie, a Parisian victim of a rape.
After seven years of proceedings, she failed to have her attacker convicted, "as in the vast majority of cases".
Julie will have spent in vain nearly 8,500 euros for her legal proceedings, including 6,000 euros in legal fees, according to the calculations of the authors.
And that, without counting the cost of his psychological follow-up.
The victims must also pay several hundred euros in bailiff's fees to gather evidence of the facts they denounce.
The report recommends the abolition, in cases of sexual violence, of the “consignment” required to be a civil party.
This sum, similar to a deposit and intended to deter abusive complaints, generally reaches 1,500 to 3,000 euros.
Another recommendation: the revaluation of the scale of legal aid, paid by the State to litigants to cover, partially or totally, their lawyer's fees.
This scale, which takes into account the applicant's income, is currently “one of the lowest in Europe”.
It would also be necessary to "deconjugalize" the criteria for allocating this aid, "so that married and PACS women do not see themselves deprived of it and placed in a situation of economic dependence vis-à-vis their spouse", argue the authors.
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