This is the first assessment of #metoo in the world of sport: nearly 445 people have been implicated to date thanks to reports sent to the cell on sexual violence in sport, announced on Friday April 2, Minister responsible for sports Roxana Maracineanu, on the occasion of the second convention devoted to this topic.
This unit was set up last winter after the publication of the book Such a long silence (Plon), skater Sarah Abitbol. She tells how she was raped by her trainer between 15 and 17 years old, in the early 1990s. Her book had provoked cascading revelations.
63% of victims are under 15
A first inventory drawn up in mid-February counted 387 reports and 421 people involved, including 245 professional or volunteer educators (188 and 57 respectively). The ministerial delegate in charge of sexual violence in sport, Fabienne Bourdais, said on Friday that “48 sports federations” were concerned and that 12 “Concentrate 66% of business”.
Another figure noted by the participants in this convention, including by the Keeper of the Seals, Eric Dupond-Moretti, who came to ensure the support of justice, “63% of cases concern minors under the age of 15”. Fabienne Bourdais noted that “25 reports” emanated from high level structures, which means that “The vast majority of events take place in classic clubs”. The prefects pronounced 191 administrative interdiction measures. This concerns 29 public officials, including 16 from the sports ministry and 11 from national education, including seven PE teachers.
Speech is freed
Testifying as president of the Loiret Assize Court, Aude Cristau explained that “The world of sport attracts predators, like school”, referring to the case of a road cycling instructor guilty of “19 rapes”. She also insisted on the symptoms of post-traumatic stress of the victims (scarifications, eating disorders, mutism…). “Little girls are hiding under my desk”, unable to speak, she stressed. This difficulty in describing the crimes suffered is often synonymous with a break with the sports world. “I had a little rider who told me: I preferred to suffer rather than to break my competitive course”, continues Aude Cristau.
Sarah Abitbol, present at the convention, explained that she “Was on the road to recovery.” A year after the release of his book, “The victims are less ashamed to speak out. It’s difficult, because we have the impression of tainting our sport (…) but it was necessary. I am proud to have done it, even if sometimes there are still complicated returns ”, she testified.