Sexual violence in sport: 445 people questioned via cases reported to the ministry
The Minister in charge of Sports Roxana Maracineanu, during the session of questions to the government, loe July 28, 2020 at the National Assembly in Paris STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN AFP / Archives
Text by: AFP
4 min
Nearly 445 people have been implicated to date via reports sent to the unit dedicated to sexual violence in sport, French Minister in charge of Sports Roxana Maracineanu said on Friday April 2, on the occasion of the second dedicated convention. about.
Publicity
Read more
Paris (AFP)
Nearly 445 people have been implicated to date via reports sent to the unit dedicated to sexual violence in sport, Minister responsible for Sports Roxana Maracineanu said on Friday at the second convention devoted to the subject.
“In the
past year, 407 cases have been or are being processed by the cell involving 445 people,
” she said.
This cell was set up last winter after the revelations of the skater Sarah Abitbol, who told in a book how she was raped by her trainer between 15 and 17 years old, in the early 90s.
A first detailed inventory drawn up in mid-February counted 387 reports and 421 people involved, including 245 professional or volunteer educators (188 and 57 respectively).
The ministerial delegate in charge of sexual violence in sport, Fabienne Bourdais, said Friday that "
48 sports federations
" were concerned and 12 "
concentrate 66% of cases
".
Another figure noted by all the participants in this convention, including by the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupont-Moretti, who came to ensure the support of justice, "
63% of cases concern minors under the age of fifteen
".
“
Denouncing violence in sport is not denigrating sport or devaluing its actors.
It's even the opposite,
”hammered Roxana Maracineanu.
Fabienne Bourdais noted that "
25 reports
" emanated from high level structures, which means that "
the vast majority of the facts take place in classic clubs
".
191 administrative interdiction measures were pronounced by the prefects.
29 public officials are also concerned, including 16 from the Ministry of Sports and 11 from National Education, including 7 PE teachers.
Testifying as president of the Court of Assizes of Loiret, Aude Cristau, explained that "
the world of sport attracts predators, like the school
", evoking the case of a road cycling instructor guilty of "
19 rapes
”.
She also insisted on the symptoms of post-traumatic stress from which victims are affected (scarifications, eating disorders, mutism, etc.).
“
I have little girls hiding under my desk,
” unable to speak, she explained.
She also mentioned the difficulty of talking about the crimes suffered, because often synonymous with a break with the world of sport.
"
I had a little rider who told me
: 'I preferred to suffer rather than to break my competitive course", "she said again.
Sarah Abitbol, who spoke at the convention, explained that she "
was on the road to recovery
" a year after her book
Such a Long Silence
sparked a cascade of revelations in the sport.
“
The victims are less ashamed to speak out,
” she said.
"
It's difficult to speak, because we have the impression of tainting our sport (...) but we had to,
" she said.
"I am proud to have done it even if sometimes there are still complicated returns
," she added.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Sports
France
Womens rights