1 in 4 abortions is linked to violence

Speech is freed on rape. 313 women victims have just signed a manifesto in the Nouvel Observateur. They declare, in broad daylight, that they have been raped. On the occasion of the international day against violence against women which took place on November 25, televisions, radios and newspapers gave a voice to these women who usually remain anonymous.

30% of rapes are of marital origin

These testimonies allow us to learn more about sexual violence. They give substance to figures which had hitherto remained disembodied. These women say they were assaulted by a man they knew. This is the case eight times out of ten. In 30% of cases, it is even marital rape.

The consequences of rape are also beginning to be better understood. A study carried out in family planning centers found that 23% of women requesting a voluntary termination of pregnancy declared that “this” abortion was the direct consequence of violence. “In addition, we know that women who have suffered rape tend to neglect their health and therefore less protect themselves against a possible pregnancy,” underlines Dr Gilles Lazimi, general practitioner at the Romainville health center (93) and member of the feminist collective against rape . The link between abortion and violence would therefore no longer need to be demonstrated, according to specialists.

If the testimonies multiply and if the phenomenon of sexual violence is better analyzed, women are however only 10% to file a complaint. This rate would even drop to 1.6% among those who are victims of their spouse. How to explain this paradox ?
In fact, it seems that collectively, these women find the courage to speak up, but that individually, the word is still tied. This is why all the specialists in the question affirm it: we must go and look for this word. Doctors, in the privacy of the practice, seem to be the best placed professionals. In practice, the issue of sexual violence is in fact only rarely addressed. According to a study conducted recently with around thirty general practitioners in Ile-de-France, in front of a woman with a history of abortion or who consults for a medical abortion in town, they are 17% to systematically ask the question of a possible link with the violence suffered. But, 27% never ask and 56% sometimes.

Listen to Dr Gilles Lazimi, general practitioner at the Romainville health center (93): “Doctors are also victims of stereotypes about rape.”

Of course, questioning a woman to find out if she has suffered sexual violence in the context of a consultation that lasts about ten minutes is not straightforward. Especially since the signs that can evoke such a trauma are not easy to decode. The urologists meeting in congress from November 21 to 24, raised this question. They point out that these sequelae of rape are often masked by other complaints.

Listen to Prof. François Giuliano, urologist at Raymond Poincarré hospital in Garches (92): “Sexual abuse is the cause of symptoms that are hard to understand, such as urinary tract infections. You have to know how to question these women. “

This is why the need to train health professionals to collect these words seems essential. “We are trained to reveal a diagnosis of a fatal disease because it is very delicate,” says Gilles Lazimi. We must also be for sexual violence. And at the faculty of medicine, this question is hardly taught ”.
Certain faculties are exceptions to the rule and set an example. This is the case of the Parisian University Pierre and Marie Curie. But, things may well change. On the occasion of World Day Against Violence Against Women, the Ministry of Women’s Rights organized in partnership with the Ile-de-France region a conference on the training of professionals working with women victims of violence. And François Hollande, himself announced that it was necessary to provide “specific training” to “police officers, gendarmes, doctors, teachers …”