Very sensitive to the subject of sexual violence, the novelist Tristane Banon, mother of two children, had closely followed the debates around the Schiappa law against sexual and gender-based violence in 2017.
She then regretted that the non-consent of the children had not been the subject of any measure.
When, on January 21, a bill passed unanimously in the Senate set a threshold of non-consent at 13, the novelist jumped.
And published in the wake on social networks a photo of her at 13 years old, accompanied by a shocking sentence: “In this photo, I am 13 years and two months old… the holidays in La Baule.
The age when the Senate considers that one can plead if one rapes a child that he wanted to.
"
His gesture reactivated a campaign led by a collective of child protection associations and has snowballed.
Within days, the 13-year-old celebrity photo series has been viewed 2.5 million times on social media.
Desiring to continue the fight and to maintain the pressure on the political leaders, Tristane Banon wrote a column, with the Collective for the childhood, demanding that the age of non-consent be fixed at 15 years, and at 18 years in incest case.
To date, 164 personalities have signed this call that we publish.
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Pedocriminality, incest ... We have been reading numerous testimonies in recent weeks.
Was it time to bring together personalities to protest against a bill which, in your opinion, is not sufficient?
TRISTANE BANON.
First, we had to explain what was in the text, be a teacher.
Many personalities told us that the introduction of a consent threshold at 13 years old was a first step!
And we replied: “Yes, of course, it is progress, but it is largely insufficient!
“Indeed, if this text were voted as it is, we would go from“ no age limit ”to a threshold.
But we cannot be satisfied with it.
The personalities really tried to understand before signing our forum, it is reassuring.
And then, I'll be honest, the first names were pretty hard to come by, but when I contacted Nagui last Friday he immediately said yes and asked if I needed any help.
And there, everything started, we spent the whole weekend collecting these signatures.
What does the law say today?
The law is clear, it obviously says that it is forbidden to have sexual relations with minors.
This is the basis.
And there is an offense of sexual assault on a minor under 15, which is today not considered a crime but, as its name suggests, as a simple offense.
Very often, the lawyers of those accused of rape of a minor make the bet to reclassify this crime as an offense.
How are they doing?
By asserting that the victim was consenting.
And once the victim is consenting, it is no longer a rape, so it is no longer a crime.
How to imagine that a child can "be consenting"?
If I take my example, at 14, I was very in love with my camp counselor.
At the time, I might have been willing for something to happen between us.
Today I think it would have traumatized me for life.
Fortunately, this man was responsible, he explained to me that I was not aware of what I was saying, and that at 14, we were often in love with his mono, and that it was his role to put a barrier.
You know, under 15, a child can be easily influenced and influenced, he can live under the influence, because he can be afraid or because, as Camille Kouchner writes in her book, the adult can explain that it's normal, that everyone does like that.
It's very complicated for a child to have the necessary perspective.
How to know if he is really consenting or if we are doing everything to make him so.
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PODCAST. Romain, 44 years old and victim: "We must tackle the subject of incest head-on"
In Camille Kouchner's books, Vanessa Springora… the victims are 14 years old.
With regard to this text, could they "be consenting"?
Exactly!
However, it is often at this middle age, between 13 and 15 years old, that we switch between childhood and adolescence.
It is therefore a complicated period, explained very well by associations for the defense of children.
It is a moment that adults must particularly protect.
Otherwise, we are destroying lives.
In France, ten million children are all the same victims of pedocriminality.
A majority of whom are victims of incest ...
It is the ultimate taboo.
Why?
Because it comes from those who should naturally protect children, from those with whom a sexual relationship is not possible: parents, brothers, sisters… the family!
So violence is terrible, and all the more terrible because it is shameful for those who suffer it.
When it is a parent, a grandfather, an uncle, a brother… who says that we must keep the sexual acts that have just been inflicted secret, this silence is very difficult to break.
We can see it clearly in Camille Kouchner's book.
It's an earthquake in a family, even when the revelation comes so long after.
It destroys lives.
Protecting children should be the first duty of adults ...
It seems obvious to me!
A child, in principle, is not an adult, he can be manipulated, he still needs them to protect him.
When we see how difficult it is for an adult woman to prove that she was not consenting, how difficult it is for her to say no, to defend herself and to struggle with her fear!
How do you expect a child under 15 to understand the difference between “being in love”, “being manipulated by an older person”, “wanting to have sex”… It's complicated!
And even if, sometimes, certain stories can exist, I do not see how it would be a violation of the fundamental freedom of these adults that they wait until the children are 15 years old!
It doesn't seem completely delusional to me.
In addition, do we want to make laws for these very marginal cases, even if they exist?
Or do we make laws to protect the greatest number?
Many of you posted photos of yourself at the age of 13 on social networks ...
Yes, it was to show what we're talking about!
Some people claim that the physical has nothing to do with all this and that there may be girls or boys who, at 13, look like they are 18 or 20. But the idea of this campaign of photos shared more than 2.5 million times on social networks, was to remember that, whatever your physique, at 13 years old, you are still a child.
These photos show this.
When we hear that we can invoke the consent of a child 13 years of age or over, that means invoking the consent of all these kids!
The Senate proposes an age threshold at 13 years old, but in France, the median age of puberty is 13.1 years for girls and 14.8 years for boys.
This is what it is about!
The median age of consented first intercourse is 17.6 years for girls and 17 years for boys.
So, that we stop talking about consent between 13 and 15 years, that does not make sense!
Unity is strength against #LOIBILLON
The associations of @CPLEnfance and @prevenirP unite to demand an age threshold of 15 years, and 18 years in case of incest @gouvernementFR will you finally hear the associations? # Before15AnsCestNON # ThresholdDage15Ans # ThresholdDage18ans pic.twitter.com/mjhwFoNPyr
- Francoise Laborde (@frlaborde) February 1, 2021
Why this blockage?
Is it a French exception?
In Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, Tunisia ... ages of non-consent have been set below which we no longer discuss the alleged consent of the minor.
In France, our laws are made to protect our freedoms while, in other countries, the legal system is designed to protect the individual, and therefore the child, the most vulnerable of individuals.
Here we have the main arguments of all those who oppose the age thresholds!
Who say it is everyone's freedom to have sex with adults when they are young, and who are outraged that such relationships can be criminalized.
They invoke the liberticidal side of the measures we are calling for.
Do you have the feeling that things are changing?
What is very moving are the words of the victims and the 31 member associations of the Collective for Children who tell me: “You know, we've been fighting for years, often without being heard, and suddenly we have the impression that we are being listened to.
“It took personalities to get upset, books to be published, for it to become a question of society… while for these associations, it is a long-standing struggle.
You have to see to what extent they are touched to see that, all of a sudden, things become possible.
Look at the hashtag #MeTooInceste which gathered 80,000 testimonials in three days, it's crazy!
On the other hand, there is a feeling of reluctance on the part of the political class on this subject.
The Minister of Justice nevertheless promised Tuesday February 9 on France 2 that an age of non-consent will be set at 15 years ...
It is a step in the right direction, and we take it as such.
But beware of the announcement effects!
Also in 2018, at the time of discussions around the Schiappa law, the executive had affirmed its desire to establish an age threshold.
It was not in the end.
Eric Dupond-Moretti did not speak of any legislative vehicle.
Laws do not materialize by asserting that we have the will on a TV set.
Furthermore, he did not say anything about incest.
This lack of proposal is atrociously embarrassing.
Nevertheless, we are delighted to have the executive as an ally.
We wait for words to turn into action.
Our expectations are fair, and that is why we are not giving up.
The Children's Collective
Created in 2018, the Collective for Children (Collectifpourlenfance.fr) brings together 31 associations: Enfance majuscule;
Facing incest;
Childhood and sharing;
CDP-Enfance;
Act against child prostitution;
The Child first;
The World through a gaze;
SOS Incest & Sexual Violence;
Apacs;
Cofrade;
Institute of Victimology;
Childhood integrity;
VIF Intra-family violence network;
The released Word;
Federation of Alexis Danan Committees for Child Protection;
Traumatic memory and victimology;
Feminist collective against rape;
Evra for child protection;
Denial is enough!
;
Incest victim;
The shelter ;
Reunion branch of the Institute of victimology;
E3DE, Together to defend and develop children's rights;
Childhood at heart;
The Talking Generation;
Don't touch my childhood;
Reppea;
Colossus with feet of clay;
A new day ;
The Children of Tamar;
Lamevit.
He is at the origin of the personalities platform and an online petition.