Sexual violence against minors costs society 10 billion euros a year, according to the Incest Commission

Mobilization of the police and justice, effects on health throughout life, risky behavior of victims… The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (Ciivise) estimates that nearly 10 billion euros per year the cost of sexual violence against minors.

“9.7 billion euros is what attackers cost us every year”, according to the accounts of the commission, created in 2021 by the government in the wake of the #MeToo movement, in a notice published on Monday June 12. To estimate this amount, the Ciivise relied on the firm Psytel, which specializes in public health cost studies and the prevention of violence against minors and women.

Investing in violence prevention

Of these 9.7 billion, 3 billion are expenses incurred in immediate and one-off response: support for victims, police, gendarmerie and justice services, immediate medical care. But the bulk of the total cost of this violence is linked to the long-term consequences on the health of the victims.

The firm estimates at 6.7 billion each year the amount of expenses induced by psychotrauma and uncreated wealth, including in particular: 2 billion for mental disorders, 1 billion for medical consultations, 2.6 billion euros in damages related to risky behavior. The loss of productivity – linked to the over-representation of victims among the unemployed or beneficiaries of social minima – is estimated at 844 million euros.

To reduce this collective cost, society must invest in the prevention of sexual violence (rapid identification, securing the child, etc.) and specialized care to treat trauma that prevents victims from living normally, recommends the Ciivise. . In its opinion published on Monday, it details “a course of specialized care for psychotrauma” for children and adult victims of childhood sexual abuse, in 20 to 33 sessions, which would be “supported by national solidarity”.