According to the first figures from the ministerial statistical service for internal security (SSMSI), complaints of sexual violence were 12% more numerous last year than in 2018. A sharp increase due in particular to a change in the behavior of victims.
Two years after the beginnings of the Weinstein affair in the United States and the surge of #MeToo on the Internet, women are more daring to speak up when they are victims of harassment or sexual violence.
This is highlighted by the first figures revealed by the Ministerial Statistical Service for Homeland Security (SSMSI). In a summary published on January 16, 2020, it reports 54,100 acts of sexual violence recorded last year by the police and the gendarmerie on French territory, an increase of 12% compared to 2018.
In detail, complaints for rape are up 19% (compared to 17% in 2018 and 12% in 2017), while complaints for other sexual assaults, including sexual harassment, have increased by 8%. .
Free speech and listening
Already in 2018, the SSMSI had noted a significant increase in the number of complaints recorded, which it explained by “a change in the behavior of victims’ filing of complaints”. The Weinstein affair, of course, but also the #MeToo movement and the major campaigns against sexist and sexual violence, such as that instigated by the #NousToutes collective in France, have largely contributed not only to freeing women’s voices, but also to give more credence to their stories. The statistical service attached to the Ministry of the Interior also notes that this increase in recorded sexual violence “is part of a context of improving the conditions for the reception of victims by the services”.
The complete and final figures concerning sexual violence, as well as feminicides, will be published by the SSMSI at the end of March. In 2019, Féminicides by companions or ex-companions collectives recorded 150 feminicides in France in the press.
For the moment, they are not differentiated and are counted among the 970 homicides (including intentional assault and battery followed by death) in 2019, and which are up 9%.
An increase in domestic violence
In addition, the SSMSI notes an increase of 8% in intentional blows and injuries to people aged 15 and over, with a notable increase in intra-family violence. Non-violent thefts against people increased by 3%, armed robberies and home burglaries remained stable after a drop in 2018.
Strong regional disparities are observed. In Paris, violent thefts without weapons per 1,000 inhabitants are twice as high as in other large cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants. The Pays-de-la-Loire also saw the number of violent unarmed robberies increase by 21.2%, while the latter are down throughout the rest of the territory.
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