Richard Berry has been in turmoil since his daughter, Coline Berry, accused him of incest. Once again, the media is paying more attention to the words of the alleged perpetrator and his allies. What if we changed our minds?
It was in January 2021 that Richard Berry's eldest daughter, Coline Berry, filed a complaint against her father and Jeane Manson, her former stepmother. Now 45 years old, she accuses them of having raped and sexually assaulted her when she was a child, between 8 and 10 years old. A case that generates a lot of reactions and a somewhat problematic treatment from the media. Indeed, Coline Berry has little room to make her voice heard. Worse still, we give the floor to the alleged culprit and his allies. A disastrous journalistic bias for the victims and for the whole of society.
To see also: Accused of lying by Richard Berry, his daughter Coline delivers a determined and poignant testimony
The media give a voice to the accused and allies
On closer inspection, Richard Berry's defense has been widely relayed on social networks and in the media. The titles speak for themselves: "Richard Berry defends himself after his daughter's accusations", "Richard Berry accused of incest: 'We are in unhealthy times'", "Richard Berry defends himself and talks about 'false allegations' https: // www. aufeminin.com/ "… If the presumption of innocence must be respected, it is also necessary to create a space of benevolent speech for the alleged victim. This Wednesday, February 3, 2021, Coline Berry herself pointed out the newspaper Point who relayed the information and the defense of her father without even contacting her. The show Do not touch My TV, by Cyril Hanouna, has also made this terrible choice to give the floor to Jeane Manson, also accused by Coline Berry of incestuous acts.
As mentioned by Pauline Harmange, author of the book Me men I hate them, on Twitter: it is as if a denial and a fear seize the public opinion when it comes to questioning the integrity of a known personality. She writes : "But where does all of this energy come from defending men accused of rape and rape of minors ?! Why is it your reflex and then why do you persist and sign?" By this lack of consideration towards the accusers, the media unfortunately encourage a cognitive bias, consisting in not wanting to admit that a person whom one loves, whom one considers to be above all suspicion, could be guilty.
An idolatry that must end
All this media treatment against Coline Berry reinforces this trend of public opinion, with consequences that will be harder and harder to deconstruct: we doubt the word of the alleged victim but we do not doubt the defense of the accused. Not to mention the risk for the alleged victim of being vilified (this is already the case for Coline Berry, who was described as a mythomaniac on CNews by a close friend of her father), or even harassed. Pauline Harmange is ironic on this subject: "But yes, the problem is the victims who open it and the totalitarian feminists who fire the presumption of innocence. I am not a judge or a juror. Powerful men who enjoy the prestige of their image are not my natural allies. "
To see also: "I want to make love to you. It's normal, all fathers feel this": teenager, I was the victim of incest of words
There is something of the order of the myth in this affair: we cannot, in France, touch a great actor (we will also think of Gérard Depardieu, or Roman Polanski and Luc Besson on the director side, all being accused of rape) . The other side of the coin is that these myths are also ultra-popular figures, with whom the French have lived for a long time: members of our family, in short. And, as when we talk about incest in a family, we will more readily defend the one who is accused than the person who speaks of his ordeal, in order to "https://www.aufeminin.com/"limit the damage" https: //www.aufeminin.com/ ". However, as Pauline Harmange mentions on Twitter: "Neither Richard Berry nor Marilyn Manson nor Johnny Depp nor Patrick Bruel are your personal friends so explain to me, why you are so keen on being given the benefit of the doubt? What do you have to hide, or what are you afraid ?"
Fear of destroying icons that have become close friends, but also, no doubt, fear of renouncing collectively and individually an order established for millennia: one where men have the privilege of being able to appropriate the bodies of women and children without being worried, or by being defended body and soul the rare times when the situation turns sour. How not to roll your eyes in front of Jean-Marc Mordandini's show, on CNews this February 8? It is titled "Richard Berry, the media?", when it is however the accuser who seems to be judged, under the eyes of a public which has chosen its camp.
Today, and we must continue to hammer it, shame must change sides. To do this, we must offer healthy spaces to speak to the alleged victims. If justice will do its job, until then our media must give these women (and men, as the recent #MeeToGay movement has shown) channels to express themselves and be supported. Enough to help the victims of the shadows in their potential approach, whether through a trial or quite simply, a personal reconstruction.