The Commission on incest and sexual violence against children has already received 6,200 testimonies – archyworldys

In the space of eight weeks, 6,200 testimonies were received. This is the first assessment of the call for testimonies of the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children (Ciivise), launched in September, without it being however possible to determine how many different situations this figure global described. “People may have written, called, and answered questionnaires at the same time.”, recognizes the instance, officially installed in March. However, this influx of testimonies received in a few weeks confirms what the existing investigations already demonstrate: the massive nature of this violence, which affects around 160,000 minors each year.

In detail, 1,200 calls were received by the specialized listening devices of the telephone platform (accessible at 0-805-802-804 for mainland France and 0-800-100-811 from overseas), 1,200 letters and e-mails were sent, and 3,800 questionnaires, accessible on the Ciivise website, have been completed. “80% of the respondents to the questionnaires were victims of sexual violence in the family, 20% in the entourage, 10% in institutions and 7% in the public space”, details at World the Ciivise, which specifies that respondents can provide information on several types of violence.

High proportion of women

Among the first lessons that emerge from reading the questionnaires are the gender of the victims (nine out of ten who answered are women), the high proportion of those who have already testified to the violence suffered (nine out of ten) and the relatively long time before talk: seven out of ten victims did so more than ten years after the incident. These elements “Converge with the data which appear in the surveys of the general population, with however some discrepancies”, observes the sociologist at the University of Strasbourg Alice Debauche, member of the “research” sub-committee of Ciivise. Cautious, she recalls that it is at this stage of “First quantitative elements, possibly subject to variation in the future”, the call for testimonies will continue throughout 2022.

Already, “What is interesting about these questionnaires and the testimonies they contain is the level of detail provided”, which reveal consequences on victims that do not necessarily appear in surveys of the general population. The impact on health of sexual violence suffered in childhood is particularly eloquent: one in three victims reports having already made a suicide attempt. Among women, one in three reports gynecological problems and one in five reports an irregularity in their menstrual cycle or an absence of periods.

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