Asked following the wave of #MeTooIncest testimony, Brigitte Macron praised the courage of the victims who dare to speak up, even long after. The First Lady calls for a reform of the laws on this subject.
Invited Sunday, January 17, 2021 on the set of Anne-Claire Coudray's 8 p.m. newspaper on TF1, Brigitte Macron raised the subject of incest as part of the launch of the 2021 operation of the Yellow Pieces.
This operation aims to improve the conditions of reception of children in the hospital, a place which, according to the First Lady, should allow screening for all types of violence. Asked by Anne-Claire Coudray on the flood of testimonies of domestic sexual violence, Brigitte Macron spoke of a desire for change.
Courage and freedom of speech
The news is indeed occupied by the tag #MeTooInceste, which follows the release of Camille Kouchner's book, La familia grande, which recounts the omission on this matter. "The government is considering judicial reform on the issue of incest, do we need to collectively debate these issues?", asks the journalist. The First Lady began by saluting the courage of the victims: "It's hard to talk about it, it's brave to talk about it" , But "It is absolutely necessary that these acts are known and that these acts are not kept". Is this any way on his part to support the need for judicial reform on this issue? "So here we are entering a field on which I am not going", she asserted. "I wish, I hope so, I am calling", she replies. But what law is currently in force to criminalize incest?
A law decried by associations
In France, the term incest made its entry into the Penal Code late, in 2016 only. Regarding sexual violence against minors, the legal texts are considered largely incomplete by the associations. They denounce the absence of a legal age threshold for consent to a sexual relationship. This absence allows unacceptable excesses in terms of the protection of minors.
To read also: "In France, a child raped by an adult must prove his non-consent": associations wind up against the Schiappa law
In December 2020, a report was issued by MP Alexandra Louis to toughen the law on sexual violence against minors, of which incest is part. Among the proposals was the establishment of a consent threshold at 15 years, but also, the imprescriptibility of this crime in the event of repeated offenses against minors. This issue of imprescriptibility is hotly debated. In French law, for the moment, only crimes against humanity are imprescriptible. The legislator defends the principle of scales of sentences to defend its refusal of imprescriptibility.
Last highlight when it comes to the work of the institutions: the president of the incest think tank, Élizabeth Guigou, had to resign because she is close to Olivier Duhamel. The body should also not deliver its conclusions until 2023. It is clear that the institutions must be aware of the magnitude of this wave of #MeTooIncest, hoping that it will take with it the impunity that still reigns. Some avenues are already proposed by associations campaigning on this subject, it is high time to listen to them.