Laura Rapp, 36, was harassed by her ex-partner for several years.
In 2018, he was sentenced to prison for trying to kill her, but the violence did not stop.
The young woman recounts her nightmare in front of the TF1 cameras.
Follow the full coverage
International Day Against Violence Against Women
One in 10 women will be victims of domestic violence in their lifetime, according to figures from the Women’s Foundation (new window). Within couples, it is the man, in 89% of situations, who is the author. Laura Rapp (new window) who testifies in the TF1 8 p.m. video above, lived through this hell for five years. Her ex-partner hit and harassed her on a daily basis, until that day in 2018 when he tried to kill her, in front of their own daughter.
In 2022, a TF1 team had already met the thirty-year-old. She then explained the phenomenon of influence suffered: “We talk about love, but in hindsight, it’s possession. I had the impression of being a thing, an object. That’s where the whole thing happened and if I left, he would kill me.”
The violence does not stop at the prison gates
Laura Rapp, victim of domestic violence
Two years later, Laura still cannot move on from this violent man. Although sentenced to eight years in prison for attempted murder, he continued to harass her: “The violence does not stop at the prison gates. Even from their prison, the attackers can continue to terrorize us. There were times when I really had lows and when I thought about ending in my days”she testifies in the TF1 news video at the top of this article.
Behind bars, the man, deprived of his parental rights, has increased the number of legal proceedings. Latest: he filed a complaint for defamation, following the publication in 2021 of a book in which Laura tells her story. The mother was indicted, a situation she considered “unfair” and that she lived like “a psychological murder”.
An emergency move
Three years later, she was finally released but she emerged ruined from this new ordeal: “At one point, I could no longer pay my lawyer. So I took out loans. My parents also paid part and I lost my job”she remembers.
For his lawyer, Me Arnaud Godefroy, it is not uncommon for the guilty to seek to exhaust their ex-wife. “A violent person uses procedures to maintain control and dry up the victim’s finances”he says. This constant psychological pressure continued when the ex-spouse left prison, four years after the start of his incarceration. He then moved just 15 minutes from Laura’s house.
She finds herself forced to move to the other end of France to protect her daughter. “Today, my daughter smiles at life. It’s my greatest victory. She rebuilds herself a lot through sport, she loves it, she does horse riding and dancing”she rejoices.
-
Read also
Domestic violence: the Universal Emergency Assistance envelope is increasing, here is what you need to know about this system
Finally, Laura wants to publicize a system from which she was unable to benefit, due to lack of information: legal aid, paid for by the State, allows you to be accompanied by a lawyer without paying for it yourself. . It is even automatic, at least temporarily, for certain crimes, such as attempted murder or rape.
