Coline Berry, daughter of actor Richard Berry, discusses the reasons for her incest complaint. A difficult complaint to file, which frees her in several respects.
Coline Berry filed a complaint against her father Richard in January 2021. She accuses him of incestuous acts when she was a very young girl. The actor denies it outright, and the family is torn apart around this affair. The alleged victim can count on the support of his cousin, actress Marilou Berry and his mother Catherine Hiegel. The latter claims to have had the story by her daughter of kisses from her father "with the tongue" when she was 4 years old. For her part, Marilou Berry assures to support her cousin since her first revelations in 2014. Why did you file a complaint when the facts are prescribed? At France Info, Coline Berry returned to the importance of this filing of a complaint and of her fight for the recognition of the facts.
Read also : Richard Berry accused of incest: what if the media stopped giving voice to his supporters?
A difficult word but a standard voice
In cases of incest charges, it is very difficult to report the facts. This is because victims oppose an abuser who has an ascendant over them, whom they love and who is supposed to protect them in their childhood. On the other hand, it has repercussions on the family. Coline Berry thus expresses strong fears when filing a complaint: "the fear of hurting others than yourself. Not just my father, my family, my grandparents. My grandmother used to tell me to wait until he was dead, because there you are, we blow everything up " she says on France Info.
Word all the more difficult as Coline Berry suspected the media coverage to come. However, it was also this possibility of speaking publicly that prompted him to lift the family secret, as did the writer Camille Kouchner (who denounced the facts of which her brother had been a victim): "these are the advantages and disadvantages of having a famous father, I can allow, by the fact that it is something that shows itself on the front of the stage, to give the courage to others to take the speech. To point out at the level of society the need that we, the victims, have to express themselves. "
This speaking out is liberating, both for the many victims who discover that they are not alone, but also for the person concerned. Coline Berry talks about healing on several levels.
A word to heal
Coline Berry has powerful words to describe her approach: "It was vital. (…) Even though I believe that I am bringing reparation to the family, and for future generations. But it is above all that the harm that I have done has become more stronger than the one I was afraid to inflict on him. "
Indeed, France Info evokes self-destructive behaviors of the daughter of Richard Berry in the past. It is characteristic of many victims of sexual assault to experience a complicated relationship with their body. Unhappiness can emerge in various forms. For Coline Berry, France Info evokes eating disorders.
The fact of putting words to an experience can be a source of distancing from this discomfort. Richard Berry's daughter is waiting for an acknowledgment of the facts so that she can put the law in the face of what she has experienced. An approach shared by many alleged victims of sexual violence.