In Paris, a march to “denounce sexist and sexual violence” and protect children

“I believe you. You have nothing to do with it”, “Transphobia kills”, “Ras the rape”, “Justice does not protect children”: the purple signs, the emblematic color of feminism, flood the procession with the Parisian demonstration launched on Saturday, November 20, at the call of the #NousToutes collective.

Five days before the international day against violence against women, thousands of demonstrators responded to the Paris rally while other demonstrations were planned in several other French cities.

In the crowd, it shouts, it sings, it dances. The atmosphere is festive. However, the stakes are high: “to denounce the extent of gender-based and sexual violence” and to fight against the “discrepancies between public policies and the reality of violence against women”, explains Marylie Breuil, activist of the feminist collective #NousToutes .

While a large majority of women – many of them young – are walking around, men and children have also answered the call. The day of November 20 was not chosen by chance: this date corresponds to the Trans Day of Remembrance. Since 1999, it has paid tribute, across the world, to those murdered and those driven to suicide because of transphobia, in other words, hatred or fear of trans people. November 20 also marks the International Day of the Rights of the Child. The march launched by #NousToutes was therefore an opportunity to highlight the dysfunctions related to the protection of children.

In France, “the system is no longer able to respond to emergencies concerning violence against children,” says Lyes Louffok, a former placed child, famous for his fight against abuse. The author of the book “In the hell of the homes” recalls in particular that “31% of the young girls and 12% of the boys placed were victims of sexual violence”, figures in a report of the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) on violence suffered by children in care, published last June.

But, according to him, the violence is not just about sexual assault and rape. “Homes are overflowing and host families leave without ever being replaced” and “children are sometimes left to their own devices in hotels,” he laments. Lyes Louffok asks, among other things, the government “for additional resources dedicated to the creation of places” in homes.

The Sauvé report, “a catalyst”

This violence is far from only affecting children in care. “We must believe the child and that he be made safe as soon as there is suspicion of abuse,” claims, for her part, Agnes, who supports the association Protect the Child.

Delivered on October 5, the Sauvé report documented the extent of sexual violence against children in the Church. He reported, since 1950, 216,000 victims sexually assaulted by members of the clergy when they were minors. It is, moreover, the first time that a Christian procession takes part in a demonstration organized by #NousToutes. “This report was a catalyst,” says Alix Bayle, of the “All Apostles!” Collective, which fights for gender equality in the Church. For the young woman, “a reform of justice” is necessary “so that that [les violences sexuelles] does not happen again “. Upon discovering this report of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (Ciase),” I have rarely felt such anger, “she recalls, denouncing” blindness in society “.

From the CGT, to family planning, through the National Union of Feminicide Families and SOS Homophobie, dozens of associations have joined the movement. One way to show that gender-based and sexual violence has repercussions on all of society, including the youngest.

“Prevention, education, training”

Children are, in fact, collateral victims of violence against women. Since 1^er January, 101 women were killed by their spouses, according to the count of the collective Feminicides by companions or ex. Around 220,000 women are victims of violence and 94,000 are raped each year in France, reports #NousToutes. Because of this violence, “children are left alone on the side of the road and some are sometimes separated from their siblings,” laments Sandrine Bouchait, of the National Union of Feminicide Families.

A spouse can also be an abusive husband, as 30-year-old Aalyah recalls. “My father was violent with me, my mother, my brothers and my sister”, says the young woman who holds up a sign “Mom, I walk for you”. “I quit school at 16 to work. We had to save ourselves thanks to economic independence. We hid our little sister. Then, we found accommodation to be sheltered. Today , we made it. My parents no longer live together, ”she says. Aalyah would have liked more help to come out of this spiral of violence. “We want actions, listening, but ultimately, year after year, nothing changes. Justice is too slow. We wait, we ask for proof after proof and finally, we react when the victim dies” , continues this “great feminist” at heart.

On Saturday, political figures and presidential candidates – including the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the environmental candidate Yannick Jadot – were present at the Paris rally. #NousNoutes and the associations that support the collective, “expect strong political commitments from presidential candidates” on the subject of gender-based and sexual violence, says Marylie Breuil, for whom we must work on “prevention, education and training “.