A topic at the heart of the debates. As the fourth day of the extraordinary Mazan trial opens, chemical submission – which consists of the administration “for criminal purposes of psychoactive substances without the victim’s knowledge or under threat, to commit a crime or an offence – is a scourge that is more relevant than ever.
“The tree that hides the forest of sexual violence”
This Thursday, September 5, on BFMTV, MP Sandrine Josso, who accused Senator Joël Guerriau of drugging her with a view to sexually assaulting her, spoke from Avignon where she is following the trial. On our channel, she denounced “a public health scourge.”
She first wanted to salute “the right tone and the strength of this woman” who was “thrown to the altar of vice.”
“What she has done is remarkable, it allows the whole of France, the whole world, to realise to what extent chemical submission is the tree that hides the forest of sexual violence,” insists the elected official, who is attending the trial.
According to the MP, chemical submission “is little known among the public” and this trial sheds light on “a blind spot” of violence against women.
“This is an opportunity to provide massive information and awareness. And since more than one in two victims remember nothing, we realize to what extent all these way of working are wreaking havoc in his life, in his family. This really needs to stop, we need to stem this phenomenon. Society needs to come together so that we finally believe them,” she insists.
69% increase in cases in one year
At present, the number of cases remains difficult to quantify. Based mainly on complaints, the ANSM has been recording each year since 2003 the molecules used by the attackers and their modus operandi.
According to the latest survey, covering 2021, 727 “suspicious reports”, 82 “likely chemical submissions” and 354 “possible chemical submissions” were recorded that year.
“Between 2021 and 2022, there was a 69% increase in cases,” adds Sandrine Josso.
Sexual assaults are still the most frequently reported cases (75.5%), followed by physical violence (6.3%) and theft (5.1%).
But these recorded cases probably only represent part of the reality – filing a complaint, always difficult in cases of sexual assault, is even more so when the victim suffers from amnesia.
- BFMTV.com
