Question 17764 — family

Summary

Mr. Léo Walter alerts the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, to the case of Ms. Sophie Abida, an individual situation unfortunately representative of the problem of “protective parents” in the context of cases of domestic violence and sexual violence against children. The MP informs the Minister of what he received Ms. Abida accompanied by her lawyer, who had appealed to him as a member of the delegation for children's rights of the National Assembly. Ms. Abida is one of these protective parents, mainly women, who, having filed a complaint against the father of their children for domestic violence or acts of incest, find themselves in the paradoxical situation of being prosecuted by the courts for "non-representation of a child" or "slanderous denunciation", thereby suffering sanctions that could go as far as being placed in police custody or even pre-trial detention; but above all the loss of custody of the children, entrusted to the alleged aggressor parent. The MP alerts the Minister to the still common suspicions which weigh on the words of these protective mothers, accused of “hysteria” or “parental alienation syndrome” (concepts devoid of any scientific basis); and on the vicious circle in which they find themselves then locked up, any action taken by them to denounce the actions of the alleged attackers or to regain custody of their children therefore reinforces these suspicions. Numerous testimonies also question the role of experts appointed by the courts in this type of case: “expertise” carried out against the complainants, absence of hearings of them (this is the case of Ms. Abida), allegations again of hysteria or parental alienation syndrome. The MP underlines that a reflection on the status of these experts, on their training in these complex issues, but also on the weight of expertise in judicial decisions seems absolutely necessary to carry out. The MP recalls that the UN special rapporteurs questioned France in July 2023 on the situation of Ms. Sophie Abida, but also of Ms. Priscilla Majani and Ms. Hanna Dam-Stokholm, who also face “apparently discriminatory treatment” and “violence inflicted” by the court decisions taken against them. These experts then urged France to protect children against incest and all forms of sexual abuse; and stressed that the conditions of investigation at the stage of the children's allegations do not allow this obligation to be met. The deputy reminds also that the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (CIIVISE) took up this issue of “protective mothers” and made three recommendations in this regard: “provide for the automatic suspension of the exercise of parental authority and visiting and accommodation rights of the parent prosecuted for rape or incestuous sexual assault against their child; suspend proceedings criminal charges for non-representation of children against one parent when an investigation is underway against the other parent for incestuous sexual violence; provide, in law, for the systematic withdrawal of parental authority in the event of the conviction of a parent for incestuous sexual violence against their child.” If Law No. 2024-233 “aims to better protect and support child victims and co-victims of domestic violence”, promulgated on March 18, 2024, constitutes progress and responds to the third recommendation of the CIIVISE, it does not however provide any solution to the situation of Ms. Abida and other protective mothers concerned by current cases. This is why the MP questions the Keeper of the Seals about the measures that can be put in place to respond to the particular situation of Ms. Sophie Abida and to protect her children from potential harm from their alleged attacker who has just been sentenced by the Chartres criminal court, this Monday, May 6, 2024, to three months' imprisonment with a simple suspended sentence for “violence against children under 15 years old by a person in authority”. Beyond this particular case, the MP inquires about the follow-up that the Minister intends to give to the first two recommendations of the CIIVISE concerning protective mothers. Finally, he asks him to carry out in-depth reflection on authorization, training and taking into account the opinions of experts in cases of domestic violence and more broadly in cases of sexual violence.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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