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Logo of the daily newspaper »Liberation«
Photo: Christophe Karaba / picture alliance / dpa
The left-wing French newspaper Liberation has sparked a controversial debate with a text by an alleged rapist.
Quite a few are critical of the publication, including women's rights groups and feminists.
"I raped you, Alma," it says on the cover of Liberation, a drawing of a young woman who is overpowered by a man.
In the letter, the anonymous perpetrator writes that he did violence to his girlfriend when the break occurred.
“Yes, I am mad at myself.
Yes, I feel dirty, ”he said in his letter.
But all of this is "no comparison to what she feels".
"To give the floor to a rapist (...) is a shame," the French women's rights group "Osez le féminisme" (daring feminism) said on Twitter.
The paper reacted to criticism with a "making of" the text.
It states that the letter is intended to "tear the reader out of the comfort zone of the assumption that the rapist, the monster, is always the other".
This text was also criticized.
The feminist Caroline De Haas called it an "absolute torment".
The alleged victim, declared »Liberation«, had agreed to the publication.
Should it come to a criminal investigation, one will cooperate with the authorities in this particular case.
The husband and wife are also informed about this.
The woman read the letter.
Her reaction quotes Liberation as follows: “It is difficult to describe, but as I read the first few lines I was overcome by a wave of relief.
The word 'rape' was there in black and white.
My rapist realized what he had done to me. ”The man admitted“ that he had destroyed me ”.
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jpz / AFP