Murder in France: “Philippine could have been my sister”: Taha O.’s first victim comes out of silence

Three days after Philippine’s funeral, Taha O.’s first victim came out of silence. This woman, aged around twenty, sent AFP a letter, in which she addressed in turn the deceased girl, her family, but more generally the authorities. She tells her story, and the events she suffered in 2019. “I am the first victim of Taha O. I think of Philippine and her family, and I am immensely sad. I would like to comfort them, to comfort her, but I only face the unbearable void left by her death,” the young woman begins.

The author of this text then makes a bitter observation: “I did everything to ensure that what happened to me would not be repeated. I filed a complaint so that the rape I suffered would be named and recognized, so that my attacker would be found guilty and me the victim. I held on during the two years of investigation, investigation and trial, telling myself that my approach would protect other women,” she explains. The first victim of Taha O., arrested last Tuesday in Geneva, was a student when she suffered a 90-minute attack in the woods of Taverny (Paris region). She immediately filed a complaint against her attacker, who was only 17 years old at the time.

The young woman believes that justice has been done: “My attacker was sentenced to almost the maximum penalty incurred for this type of crime committed by a minor and was imprisoned,” she emphasizes. But the author of the letter then puts her finger on the dysfunctions and failures in the treatment of rapists: “Immediately after his release, he would have reoffended and committed the irreparable. If this is indeed the case, why? Why has the prison system failed to prevent this recidivism? Why were we unable to stop this escalation of violence leading to the murder of a young woman?

The author calls for the launch of “a commission of inquiry into the prevention of recidivism in cases of sexual and gender-based crimes”. His moving letter ends like this: “Philippine could have been my sister. I cannot be his voice, I am only mine. The words I speak join those of women who have fought and are still fighting today against sexist and sexual violence.”