A rape victim says that the Parisian police asked her what she was wearing that day and why she had not resisted her attacker more strongly. Another had to fondle herself in front of a skeptical police officer to demonstrate that she had been sexually assaulted.
Thousands of French women, victims of sexual assault, denounced the way in which indifferent or hostile police officers registered their complaint. Some agents preferred to blame them or laugh at them.
The #DoublePeine campaign was launched last month by Anna Toumazoff. She had heard the testimony of a 19-year-old woman who said that the Montpellier police had asked her if she had enjoyed the rape she had suffered.
The hashtag quickly went viral. Women described similar experiences in many police stations across France. The NousToutes group has counted at least 30,000 testimonies of mistreatment or indifference on social networks and on a website dedicated to them.
According to activists, the French authorities must do more to counter sexual violence and eliminate discrimination against victims.
“There are questions that should not be asked when a woman files a complaint, admitted the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, last week. It is not for a police officer to determine whether he is faced with a case of domestic violence, it is for a judge to do so. He also announced an internal investigation into the Montpellier police.
However, the prefecture of Hérault, the department where the city of Montpellier is located, prefers to defend the police. In a press release, the prefect Hugues Moutouh denounced “defamatory remarks against the police officers of the Montpellier police station”.
“False information and lies which have the sole objective of discrediting the action of the internal security forces in their daily fight against sexual violence serves the cause of women victims”, he declared.
Mme Toumazoff denies that he intends to denigrate the work of the police. His campaign is all about convincing the government to act. “By leaving incompetent and dangerous police in police stations, the authorities are exposing the entire profession to shame,” she told The Associated Press.
The regional branch of the powerful police union Alliance Police defends the officers by saying that they are only doing their job. “If the police understand the distress of the victims, establishing the truth requires them to ask embarrassing questions,” he comments.
Bad experiences
A 37-year-old Parisian, victim of an assault by a man living near her home, recounted her experience. She arrived at the police station crying. The officers greeted her “with kindness.” However, since the police officer who was supposed to register her complaint did not write down the description of the assault, she refused to sign it.
“I had to repeat my version. The policeman asked me if I was sure that my attacker really wanted to touch my breasts, she testifies. I had to mimic the gesture so that he could see that I wasn’t talking about another part of my body. Doing this again in front of a wall humiliated me. I found that very degrading. It’s like I’m just a puppet. “
The investigation is continuing. The police suggested that the woman move to another apartment in order to get away from her attacker, she adds.
A 25-year-old Parisian says that the police handling of her rape complaint filed against her ex-boyfriend in 2016 “had traumatized her”. When she lodged her complaint, a specially trained police officer explained to her the reasons why he was asking her all these questions. “I felt safe and felt like he believed me. “
When we are in an urgent situation, such as a terrorist attack, the authorities act, because it is urgent. It’s the same thing: women’s lives are at stake. Every day is urgent.
A few months later, she had to go to another police station on the same street where the alleged attacker lives. Already very worried at the idea of meeting him, she had the impression that she was judged “stupid and a liar”. A police officer asked her what she was wearing that day. She was also asked how it was different to have consenting sex. Another officer told her he didn’t understand why she hadn’t struggled more.
The case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. The young woman describes that her experience with the police greatly influenced her private life and almost led her to give up her studies.
The reception of victims and the treatment of complaints of sexual violence by the police are “perfectible”, admitted Minister Darmanin in front of deputies of the French National Assembly.
Women have been sounding the alarm bells for years, recalls Mme Toumazoff, who accuses politicians of making announcements without taking real action. “When we are in an urgent situation, such as a terrorist attack, the authorities act, because it is urgent. It’s the same thing: women’s lives are at stake. Every day is urgent. “