Paris (AFP)

Thousands of gays testified on Friday on Twitter, under the hashtag #Metoogay, of the sexual violence they suffered, in the lineage of the #Metoo and #Metooinceste movements and after accusations of rape against an elected representative of Paris and his spouse .

Appeared Thursday evening, #Metoogay counted Friday morning among the trends in France on the social network.

Among the testimonies: "I was 20 years old, he over 30, he invited me to his place after giving a master class in my theater class. I was paralyzed. He said + who does not say a word consents +. I cried throughout the report and he told me + I hadn't seen it. Did you like it anyway? + ".

"At 16, he was one of my best friends. At 21, it was my boyfriend who refused my + no +. At 26, it was a sex scene that made me the combo violence, constraint and threat, "said another man.

These testimonies come a few days after the #Metooinceste movement, which has seen thousands of people recount the sexual violence suffered within the family circle in childhood or adolescence, in the wake of the accusations made by Camille Kouchner against Olivier Duhamel.

The #Metoogay hashtag was also shared after Paris Council PCF elected official Maxime Cochard and his spouse were charged with rape and sexual assault, which they deny.

The Communist Party asked them to step aside from their responsibilities within the PCF.

A young man claimed on Twitter that he was raped by them at the age of 18 when he was in a "particularly vulnerable situation".

Friday morning, Marlène Schiappa, Minister Delegate for Citizenship, assured of his "full support" the victims of sexual violence.

"If you wish, police officers, gendarmes and psychologists are available for you via http://arretonslesviolences.gouv.fr 24 hours a day," she wrote on Twitter.

"We are on your side. No sexual violence is excusable!"

"The liberation of speech is an act of great courage," said David Belliard, deputy mayor (EELV) in Paris, on Twitter.

"Violence is also common and trivialized among gays, where patriarchal domination is ubiquitous as much as it is denied."

Likewise, for SOS Homophobie, "the #Metoogay movement marks a necessary liberation of the voice of victims of sexual violence".

"These people must be heard and protected. We believe you and we support you," wrote the association.

© 2021 AFP