Question 19016 — crimes, misdemeanors and contraventions

Summary

Mrs. Valérie Boyer questions Mrs. Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, on the protection of minor victims of rape. In France, according to the Ministry of Justice, 4 out of 10 cases of sexual violence are sexual assaults on minors. But it seems that reality is difficult to assess because not all victims are able to talk about it and file a complaint. In a report on the protection of minor victims of sexual offenses, published on behalf of the Senate Laws Committee, we can read the results of an INED survey of the population, carried out in 2015. The result was that nearly 40% of rapes or attempted rapes declared by women took place before the age of 15. For men, the rate rises to almost 60%. More specifically, a quarter of the women and a third of the men interviewed in this study explained that these The facts had started before the age of 11. More specifically, there are numerous peaks of sexual violence among children. It is estimated, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, that the peak of sexual violence among girls is reached between the ages of 10 and 15. In boys, this peak is estimated at 6 years; it then decreases. In more than 87% of cases, the minor knew the accused. For 65% of rapes, there was a bond of friendship or acquaintance with the accused and for 22% of cases, a family or sentimental link. A report on the impact of sexual violence from childhood to adulthood from the traumatic memory and victimology association also points out that before the age of 6, this violence is inflicted by a family member in 70% of cases. The attackers are minors in 25% of cases, men in 96% of cases and a relative in 94% of cases. Several cases of “rape” against minors have particularly moved the French in recent years. In one case, the victim, aged just 11, became pregnant after having sex with a 22-year-old man she did not know. Prosecuted for rape of a minor under the age of 15, the accused was nevertheless acquitted on Tuesday November 7, 2017 by the jurors of the Assize Court of Seine-et-Marne. Indeed, in the motivations for the judgment, the court explains that none of the elements constituting rape, namely “threat, violence, coercion or surprise”, has been established and that a doubt exists as to whether the accused was aware of coercing the woman with whom he had a sexual relationship. The general public prosecutor's office of the Paris Court of Appeal, which appealed against this verdict, rightly considered that "up to the age of 15, a child must be preserved" and that “we cannot obtain sexual relations from him because his consent is not informed”. Friday March 15, 2019, the Le Mans criminal court rendered a judgment that was difficult for the French to understand. The latter sentenced a repeat offender grandfather who apparently committed rape on his 8-year-old granddaughter to only 8 months in prison, suspended for sexual assault. If rape is legally a crime that must be judged by the assize courts, it is more and more often the subject of judicial correctionalization, that is to say that the public prosecutor's office or the investigating judge pursues this offense under a criminal classification with the aim of bringing the case before a criminal court rather than before an assize court. This would concern 80% of rape cases. The unclogging of the courts, particularly the assize courts, must not not be to the detriment of the victims. Rape is a crime, it must be judged as such, especially when the victim is a minor. Sexual majority being set at fifteen years, it is appropriate to provide an irrefutable presumption of non-consent for minors under fifteen years of age. While the Government had considered this during the bill on the fight against sexual and gender-based violence, this measure was unfortunately been abandoned. Between 15 and 18 years old, we can consider that a minor may be able to voluntarily maintain a sexual relationship with an adult, but we must set a limit. Indeed, it is also appropriate to consider an irrebuttable presumption of non-consent for minors over the age of fifteen when the adult is a person having legal or de facto authority over them. This goes in the direction of Bills from the Member of Parliament of January 31, 2018 (No. 616) relating to the protection of rape victims and of March 27, 2019 (No. 1808) strengthening the protection of victims, the prevention and repression of physical and sexual violence, which she invites her to support. We must protect children. This is why we must not reverse the roles. The minor must be placed at the heart of the judicial system and given absolute priority of justice. This is essential both for young victims and for society as a whole. She questions him about his intentions on this subject.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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