When she learned that she could finally have the oversized breast implants removed that her pimp, Josué Jean, had pushed her to ask, Marie-Michelle Desmeules could not be happier.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
“I was screaming in my car. I was freaking out. I was completely crazy,” exclaims the woman on the line. After two refusals, the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) turned around and authorized his request in mid-August.
During the four years spent alongside Josué Jean, Marie-Michelle Desmeules was forced into prostitution and was regularly beaten. “He was always putting me down on my looks. I thought I was ugly, disgusting, repulsive. I believed it for a long time. It’s crazy what a pimp can make you believe, ”recalls Mme Desmilles.
In 2008, he forced her to have breast implants. “I have 800 ml per breast. It’s huge,” the woman said. These disproportionate prostheses cause him significant back problems.
In the months that followed, his pimp puts him through hell. In 2009, she ran away from her apartment. She filed a complaint five years later. Jean was eventually found guilty of 14 counts and sentenced to an eight-year prison term in 2019.
Today, Marie-Michelle Desmeules can no longer stand the gaze of others on her chest. “Everyone sees that. I work with people with brain injuries and I’m often told that I look like a dancer, a whore. It hurts me. I can’t wait to stop having that look,” she says.
“Find your body back”
In 2019, Mr.me Desmeules begins the process with the RAMQ to obtain a removal of the implants and a breast lift. His goal: “to find his body before”. She includes in her request letters of support from her family doctor, her anesthesiologist and various community workers, including criminologist Karine Damphousse.
Despite medical advice, the RAMQ refused his request. In the summer of 2021, she begins a review process with the same letters. She again receives a refusal.
After an article by The Press published on January 15, where she tells her story, Mme Desmeules receives a call from the RAMQ. “The woman on the phone tells me that they read the article in The Press and that they are really sorry. She suggests that I review my file,” recalls M.me Desmilles. In March, she sends her third request.
“We tried multiple pharmacological molecules and psychological support, as well as physiotherapy. All of the parties involved in the case confirm that the component of the overload brought about by M’s breast implantsme Desmeules is a limiting factor in the improvement of his pain”, indicates his anesthesiologist in a letter attached to the request.
“It seems inconceivable to me that we cannot help Mr.me Desmeules in the search for a solution to reduce her chronic pain knowing the difficult context she has experienced, ”adds the specialist, who agrees to do her anesthesia pro bono.
” The greatest gift ”
In mid-August, she finally received the long-awaited answer: the RAMQ would cover all of the costs related to the removal of the implants and the breast lift. “It’s the best gift you can give me,” she says.
“I am convinced that if I had not denounced the RAMQ and showed my face in The Press, I would never have been accepted, ”she laments. She worries about victims who may find themselves in a situation similar to hers.
What do we do with the other victims? That’s what pains me. Not all victims are able to speak. Reporting is not the solution for everyone.
Marie-Michele Desmeules
Mme Desmeules is eager to have her implants removed. “I don’t want to wear this anymore. These are my pimp’s last fingerprints. »
Karine Damphousse, criminologist and lecturer at the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal, said she was very happy to hear the news. “Finally progress for victims of sexual exploitation,” she said.
In response to a request from The Pressthe RAMQ has indicated that it never publicly comments on the personal cases of citizens for reasons of confidentiality.
With the collaboration of Katia Gagnon, The Press