A month ago, several Quebec and international media celebrated the five years of the #MeToo movement. On this occasion, several articles were written on the subject, drawing up an inventory of the movement and its repercussions on the way of thinking about sexual violence. The book by investigative journalist Amélia Pineda, What’s left of #MeToo?, looks specifically at the #MeToo movement in Quebec. The essay sheds light on the transformations that the whistleblowing movement has brought about in journalistic work and in the ability of journalists to carry out in-depth investigations into these issues.
In retrospect, the #MeToo movement as it unfolded in Quebec has led to certain advances, such as the creation of a court specializing in domestic and sexual violence. Some public figures who have been the subject of denunciation have lost the support of their colleagues and their workplace, which has put an end to their artistic career, as is the case of rapper Maybe Watson, ex-member of the group Alaclair Together.
In many ways, the #MeToo movement has had a greater impact on those denounced in Quebec than in France. To cite just one example, the actor Gérard Depardieu continued to chain films and public appearances after being indicted for rape by French justice.
#MeTooIncest in France
While Quebec is very often ahead of France in terms of feminist struggles, it is clear that it is lagging behind in terms of reflections on incest in the public and media space. . Since winter 2021 in France, the hashtag #MeTooInceste has appeared. several books and podcast dealing with incest came out, in particular Camille Kouchner’s book, The big familyand the podcast by Charlotte Pudlowski, Or maybe one night.
A few weeks ago, the collective book The culture of incest, directed by Iris Brey and Juliet Drouar, was published by Éditions du Seuil. The authors show how the taboo surrounding incest does not concern inflicting it, but rather talking about it. An alarming observation is made by Iris Brey: “incest is the blind spot of our societies and our arts”. Like France, Quebec is no exception.
A cultural landscape that closes its eyes
Cinema and television occupy an important place in the cultural landscape of Quebec and produce social representations that are anchored in the collective imagination. The great success of the series Petwritten by Simon Boulerice and broadcast on Noovo, illustrates the extent to which it is still taboo to talk about incest and child crime in Quebec.
The series depicts the romantic and sexual relationship between Sandrick (17), a high school student, and his teacher Chanelle (37). By presenting on screen a situation of sexual exploitation under cover of a great love story, Pet perpetuates the very widespread idea that, behind pedocriminality, there would be love. The close relationship between Sandrick and Chanelle, which becomes almost a mother-son relationship, echoes the legal definition of incest, which includes all violence committed within the framework of the extended family by a person who uses his position. of authority.
The character of Sandrick is modeled on the myth of the child seducer, according to which it is the child who is at the origin of the violence he suffers. The miniseries Martina at the beachalso written by Simon Boulerice, is also based on the idea that sexual desire comes from the child and that it is he who actively seeks to seduce the adult.
The need to think about incest in Quebec
The airing of these two series and the lack of negative reviews of them are indicative of the collective inability to make the connection between the culture of rape and the culture of incest. And yet, the most recent statistics on sexual violence in Quebec show that the majority of victims are under 18 years old.
According to 2016 figures, 23.4% of persons accused of sexual offenses are relatives. It clearly appears that violence of a sexual nature is largely a case of paedocriminality and that a significant part of it is a case of incest.
It seems necessary to us to think about sexual violence as a whole and to include reflections on incest within the #MeToo movement. It is time to recognize the extent of incest and pedocrime in Quebec and to show them for what they really are: violence committed on non-consenting children and adolescents.