Louise Sallé, edited by Solène Leroux 11:23 a.m., March 31, 2022

While the commission on incest publishes Thursday 20 recommendations to better protect victims, one of them is an absolute priority: the suspension of parental authority for the parent being prosecuted.

Some children continue to see it, even if there are suspicions.

A situation that must end for Judge Édouard Durant, President of the Ciivise.

How to protect the 160,000 child victims of sexual assault each year in France?

The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (Ciivise) publishes Thursday 20 recommendations, with one priority: the suspension of parental authority for the father or mother being prosecuted.

For example: Alex goes every other weekend to his father.

The rest of the time, he lives with his mother, to whom he confided that his father abused him.

His mother filed a complaint, but the procedure is long.

Alex continues to see his father, who therefore exercises his parental authority.

A proposal not contrary to the presumption of innocence

For Judge Édouard Durand, president of the incest commission, this kind of situation must end.

"Incest is a major transgression of parental authority", he insists at the microphone of Europe 1. For him, "it is therefore essential and urgent that the law provide for a decision on parental authority in the case of incest".

This "proposal of the Ciivise is not contrary to the presumption of innocence", he defends.

"The reason commands."

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"Who do we want to protect?"

According to the judge, the concept of parental authority is interpreted to the detriment of the child for cultural reasons.

"We always hear: 'Parental authority is a set of rights whose purpose is the recognition of the parent in his status as a parent.'" But according to Judge Durand, "it is a perverse system which leads to it being the rapist parent who decides whether the child will be cured".

And to wonder: "The question is: 'Who do we want to protect?'"

The subject is not new, but for the Commission, the legislators must seize it as quickly as possible.