“Around me, I hear many women and men who tell me: ‘You have a lot of courage’assured Gisèle Pelicot before the Vaucluse criminal court at the end of October. It’s not courage, it’s determination, to move this society forward.” For more than three months, the trial of 50 men accused of rape and sexual assault on the septuagenarian woman from Mazan (Vaucluse) will have captivated France.
Drugged, then raped by her husband and by dozens of strangers during her sleep, Gisèle Pelicot never stopped highlighting the reality of sexual violence. “The rapist is not the one you meet in a parking lot, late at night. He can also be in the family, among friends”notably proclaimed the ex-wife of Dominique Pelicot. Nine out of ten rape victims know their attacker, and in more than four out of ten cases, it is the spouse or ex-spouse, recalls a report from the National Assembly delegation for women's rights. . The media have widely covered the Mazan rape trial, from the profile of the accused to the effects of chemical submission, but one question remains unanswered: how to avoid acts of violence?
“Men who rape see rape as an act with little risk and high reward.”writes Australian sociologist Michael Flood in his work Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention. In 2022, 270,000 people in France declared themselves victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault, according to the Experienced and felt security survey by the Ministry of the Interior. However, only 6% of victims of sexual violence file a complaint. An approach that is often not very fruitful, since in 2020, 94% of concluded rape investigations were closed without further action, the majority due to lack of evidence, notes a note from the Institute of Public Policies (PDF). Ultimately, only “1% to 2%” rapes are sentenced to court, estimates the study. “The perpetrators of rape know today that they have little risk of being convicted”notes, with franceinfo, environmentalist senator Mélanie Vogel.
“And [les auteurs de viol] had a much greater probability of being judged, or even punished, this, naturally, would make them more attentive.”
Mélanie Vogel, environmentalist senatorat franceinfo
There are avenues to ensure that investigations lead to more convictions. In 2021, a reflection on sexual violence cases led the Grenoble public prosecutor's office to create a list of obligatory acts to be carried out, and to provide precise hearing outlines to the police on the subject.
“If the investigation is done well from the start, we are more likely to result in prosecutions against the perpetrator.”
Eric Vaillant, public prosecutoron the YouTube channel of the Grenoble court
Several feminist associations are also calling for the creation of specialized courts in matters of sexual violence, which exist in Spain or Quebec. Objective: to strengthen communication between all actors in the civil and criminal chain, and to lead magistrates to specialize, so that cases are successful more often.
Like others, Senator Mélanie Vogel also wants the introduction of consent into the legal definition of rape. This measure, which divides among feminists but which the resigning Minister of Justice, Didier Migaud, said he was in favor of, would require the accused to prove that he or she sought the consent of his or her partner. If this were not the case, his conviction would be easier to obtain than today, the current law requiring proof of a “violence, coercion, threat or surprise” to qualify rape.
To reduce violence, it is not enough to scare potential attackers. The prevention of rape takes place well before it occurs, underline the actors interviewed by franceinfo. This first happens through “systematic screening for sexual violence among children” by the medical profession, says psychiatrist Muriel Salmona. Modeled on what the High Authority for Health recommends for detecting domestic violence, the psychiatrist advises practitioners to systematically question sexual violence.
“When you have been a victim of sexual violence and you are a boy, you are much more likely to commit violence yourself if you are not supported.”
Muriel Salmona, psychiatristat franceinfo
More than a quarter of the accused in the Mazan rape trial reported having been victims of sexual abuse in childhood. However, today, not all doctors are trained to detect violence, and those who denounce it sometimes take the risk of reprisals. We must also be able to take care of these children, including by removing them from an incestuous home, recalls Muriel Salmona. A major challenge, given that Child Welfare is the subject of multiple criticisms and lacks resources.
Sexual violence is gendered: in 2023, 85% of victims known to law enforcement were women, and 96% of those accused were men, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. How to explain it? “Violence is used as a short circuit against dissatisfaction, annoyance…” that men can encounter, explains sociologist Eric Macé, author of Post-patriarchy.
“Masculinities continue to be forged in what I call a 'legitimate egocentrism' of boys, explains Eric Macé. Boys understand very quickly that they are encouraged to have projects, and that transgression is valued if it allows them to accomplish these projects. Their social skills and self-esteem revolve around this self-centeredness. On the other hand, they are under-equipped in terms of relational skills and taking others into account.” Conversely, girls are encouraged to develop a “obligatory altruism”.
These stereotypes about masculinity and femininity are transmitted through parental education, but are also disseminated through advertising, films, pornography, the media, etc. All of these representations feed what we call “rape culture”, that is to say the myths and preconceived ideas that a society maintains about this crime (such as “men have sexual urges that 'have no women', 'women who report rape lie', 'only women who wear short skirts are raped', etc.). However, numerous studies show that belief in these gender stereotypes and rape myths is not without consequences.
“Men's adherence to sexist, patriarchal attitudes (…) is an important predictive factor of their use of violence against women.”
Michael Flood, sociologistdans “Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention”
To change things, we must therefore work to deconstruct these stereotypes. “It is absolutely necessary to regulate the access of minors to pornography, which eroticizes violence against women, but also to fight against sexist stereotypes in advertisements or against prostitution which commodifies women's bodies”suggests Françoise Brié, vice-president of the L’Escale Solidarité femmes association. “The media issue contributes to shaping our social representations, all information channels must be scrutinized”also argues the psychocriminologist Salomé Sperber, who believes that the “sensationalism” sometimes takes precedence to the detriment of a “basic treatment” of the issue of sexual violence.
“We are sorely lacking in education on emotional and sexual issues, affectivity and intimacy”she also pleads, like all the actors interviewed. Since 2001, the obligation to provide sexuality education has been enshrined in law, which provides “at least three annual sessions” in schools, colleges and high schools. “The idea is to deconstruct gender stereotypes, to give students some tools for communicating about intimacy and expressing emotions”explains Ambre Lesage, marriage and family counselor at Family Planning, who works in schools. The latter nevertheless regrets that the law is not applied more and that the lack of funding prevents the training of more workers and the provision of more courses.
In recent weeks, these sessions have once again been singled out by the reactionary right and the extreme right. But, apart from at school, “there is no real education about sexuality and intimate relationshipspoints out Eric Macé. Not investing in this educational material means giving free rein to parents' lack of voice and the over-representation of pornography. Young people will therefore continue to lack resources in terms of consent.”
Deconstructing stereotypes and learning social skills to avoid violence can also be taught to adults. “We must intervene with the perpetrators of violence to avoid recurrence”thus supports Eric Macé. Since 1998, the latter can be sentenced to socio-judicial monitoring, such as participation in psychotherapy and/or support groups.
However, this support is still too little developed in France, believe many experts, who point to Belgium or Canada as examples. “We have a shortage of professionals trained to support authors [de violences]or who wish to take charge of them”assures psychologist Catherine Potard, from the Resource Center for those working with perpetrators of sexual violence (Criavs) in Center-Val de Loire. “More should be done, but we have difficulty relaying existing initiativesalso deplores psychocriminologist Salomé Sperber. It's complicated to put things in place for the perpetrators when the victims are already not always very well taken care of. We sometimes fear that giving to some means taking away from others.”
Faced with the magnitude of the task, is there hope? “Young people today know the concept of consentrejoices Ambre Lesage. For previous generations, it was a word reserved for feminist circles.” “I have fifty years of hindsight, and the way my speech on rape is received is like day and nightconfirms Emmanuelle Piet, founder of the Feminist Collective Against Rape. It's normal that transforming thousands of years of global machismo into fifty years is complicated, but we're making progress.”
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