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The issue of sexual assault suffered by athletes in the sports, amateur or professional context seems to be becoming a priority for the French State. After further revelations from the Disclose website, the subject long considered taboo resurfaces.
The end of the omerta? “ We are trying to provide concrete answers to this question! ", Véronique Lebar testifies with energy for RFI. The president of the Ethics and Sport Committee (CES) is at the head of an independent association, which works on concrete proposals. Since 2013, the CES has been helping sportsmen and women victims of sexual violence and putting athletes, psychologists, doctors and lawyers in touch.
Disclose revives the debate!
" There is a certain omerta even at the highest of the state, almost like in families, denounces firmly Véronique Lebard, former head of the sports, health and well-being department of the Ministry of Sports. It is very hard for the person speaking. She is afraid of being ostracized and I consider that the Sports Ministry has never really tackled the problem. We must act quickly, this is only the beginning of this story . »On the free number (01 45 33 85 62) of the CES 'mistreatment network', Véronique Lebar admits to receiving many more calls than before.
For nearly eight months, Disclose , a French investigative website created in 2018, investigated sexual violence in sports on French soil. An unprecedented dive into the closed world of amateur and professional clubs which demonstrates the bankruptcy of an entire system, from sports associations to federations, to state services.
Between 1970 and today, the investigation reveals 77 cases marked by major dysfunctions in 28 sports, causing 276 victims. And nearly one in two sexual offenses is a repeat offense.
" Prevention work pays off ", said Laura Flessel
However, in 2017, in an interview with Express , Laura Flessel, former Minister of Sports, argued that in light of the Weinstein affair in the cinema, she had not " received testimony " from the world of sport French. " It's probably that the [prevention] work pays off, " she said. While the whole world was experiencing its #MeToo revolution, French sport did not seem very concerned.
“ People need to know that this doesn't just happen in Hollywood. It exists everywhere ", testified at the time on social networks, the former star of American gymnastics McKayla Maroney, accusing repeated sexual assaults the former doctor of the federation , Larry Nassar, in prison for child pornography after more than 125 women had testified against him. " Our silence has given power to bad people for too long and it's time to take back power, " said the former gymnast.
A national conference on the subject ?
According to The Human Rights Channel, the Council of Europe's human rights channel, “ almost one in five children are victims of sexual violence in Europe. This concerns sexual touching, rape, harassment and sexual assault, exhibitionism, exploitation in the form of prostitution and pornography, blackmail and online sexual extortion . "
A study commissioned in 2009 by the Ministry of Sports stated that 11.2% of athletes were exposed to sexual violence against 6.6% outside the sports sphere. Worldwide, studies on sexual assault in sports are relatively few.
Since the revelations of Disclose, the Ministry of Sports has created a unit dedicated to the management of this problem led by the Director of Sports Gilles Quénéhervé. After a table tennis player was implicated in the Disclose investigation, the French Table Tennis Federation asked the CNOSF (French National Olympic Sports Committee) and the Ministry of Sports to urgently organize " a national conference to set up an ORSEC plan and provide the means to act firmly and quickly . ” The legal framework does not allow clubs or federations to access or have access to the files of sex offenders.
The fight of a former rugby player victim of rape
Also since this investigation, an agreement has been signed between the Ministry of Sports and the association "Colossus with feet of clay". Former rugby player Sébastien Boueilh, its founder, raped by his cousin's husband every Friday between 12 and 16 years old, will complete his tour of France in Cresps next March (centers of resources, expertise and sports performance), focused on hazing and sexual assault. “Colossus with feet of clay” has also signed agreements with 12 federations to intervene with sports players: technical executives, licensees and elected officials.
Some countries have considered the problem of sexual violence in sport for several years. In England, the government has set up a listening and legal aid platform. In Canada, parents can find out about what the sports club is doing in terms of prevention before registering their child.
" We must put an end to the omerta and denounce this sexual violence, " said Senator Michel Savin, who received Véronique Lebar at the Luxembourg Palace on November 13. We have proposals for this and it is important to listen and relay the voice of the actors on the ground. "