France: the Ciivise sounds the alarm on incest, the government promises to act
The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children (CIIVISE) launched a call for testimonies a year ago, aimed at victims of sexual violence in their childhood.
© AP / Christophe Ena
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
A year after the launch of its call to testify campaign, the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children, the Ciivise, released this Wednesday, September 21 the report it submitted to the government.
The latter announced several measures resulting from the recommendations made by the commission based on the 16,414 testimonies it collected.
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The government's measures are inspired by the recommendations of the Ciivise, whose
call for testimony
was launched in January 2021 to guide public policies to combat sexual violence against minors.
Édouard Durand, the judge who co-chairs the Ciivise, prefers to see the glass half full than the glass half empty, even if the measures have not all been retained, nor quantified.
►To listen also: Incest: what to do to help the victims?
“
On March 31, we made twenty recommendations.
And today, Charlotte Caubel, Secretary of
State for Children, announced that the government would implement several of these recommendations.
Which is very important because it is a recognition of the work of the Ciivise.
This shows that what we had identified as a priority is taken into account by the government to increase the capacity to protect children at all stages of the journey of the child victim of sexual violence,
"said Édouard Durand at the microphone of
É
ric Chaurin
,
of RFI
.
Those who testify "
almost always
" evoke consequences "
on their intimate life in adulthood, their couple, their life as a parent, their sexuality
", notes the report.
Four out of ten women report pain, mainly vaginismus.
Nearly one in three men suffer from erectile dysfunction.
Three out of ten victims mention an absence or drop in libido or an absence of sexual life.
Conversely, sexual violence results in hypersexualization (multiplication of partners in particular) for half of the men.
Withdrawal of parental authority
In particular, the government announced the "
submission to Parliament of a legislative amendment allowing the withdrawal in principle of the exercise of parental authority in the event of a conviction of a parent for incestuous sexual violence against his child
".
This “
withdrawal in principle
” would be pronounced “
unless otherwise stated by the trial court by special motivation
”, indicates the Secretary of State for Children in a press release.
The government will also launch in early 2023 "
a major national campaign on sexual violence against children
", while the last dates from 2002.
It intends to create an "
advice and support unit for professionals who receive revelations of sexual violence from children
".
On the judicial level, the government also wants to strengthen "
accompaniment of the child
" throughout the criminal process "
by victim support associations and with the intervention of an ad hoc administrator, in the event of failure parental
”.
“
The first stage is identification”
“
The first stage is scouting: giving professionals the means to reach out to children and inspire them with confidence.
This is how we will find the 160,000 child victims of rape and sexual assault each year.
That's how we can get them to safety.
Some of our measures that we propose require additional budgets.
We must first rejoice at these announcements, because they are very positive and, of course, the Ciivise will remain vigilant, that is its role.
That is to say that its recommendations are realistic and must become realities
, ”said Édouard Durand, of the Ciivise.
Caregivers, school teachers, sports teachers must "
systematically ask themselves the question
" of sexual violence.
To support them, the government will create “
a support unit for all professionals who have doubts or are faced with revelations
”.
Once the incest has been spotted, the next step is to consolidate the legal treatment while 70% of the complaints are filed without further action.
The government will continue to deploy Pediatric Reception and Listening Units throughout the territory, bringing together investigators, doctors, psychologists, to hear the child in safety.
The Ciivise will continue its work, in particular to collect the words of the victims until the end of its mandate in November 2023.
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