Incest: hundreds of testimonies collected on the new listening platform

"

It just keeps ringing!

», Launches Judge Édouard Durand, co-chairman of the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children (Ciivise).

And, at the end of the line, there is “a

lot of emotion and confidence

”.

Tuesday morning, the telephone platform launched to collect the words of victims of incest or sexual violence in childhood received its first calls.

In a few hours, "

hundreds of calls and emails

" were sent to the commission, a sign of "

a very large social need

"

,

believes Édouard Durand.

Read alsoIncest: a call for witnesses to "fight against silence"

Distributed in two rooms, the listeners of the feminist collective against rape, the association chosen to manage this platform, advise the victims and collect the first testimonies which will help the Commission to propose, in 2023, a new action plan. to fight against sexual violence against children.

The perpetrator was an uncle, cousin or brother

One of the listeners chats with a woman who evokes flashes and nightmares that are still present years after the fact. “

There is no reason you should still have these symptoms. We are going to advise you to go to care, support

, she slips. V

ou can also write to thank the girl you were and who fled to 10 years, who dared to speak, breaking the silence. It is a way of reminding you of all the resources that you have put in place to get by ”

. It is also a question of a judicial process that goes on forever.

“It is a strategy of the aggressor to make the procedure last, it fits into his system.

It is the stake of this commission to ensure that there are less and less dysfunctions like this one

, explains this professional listening.

A woman said to me: 'I have waited for this call for testimonies all her life'

Élodie, head of the listening platform

Next door, another call concerns a once abused woman within her family circle.

“

You told me about a sister and a cousin who were also victims of the same assailant.

They confided in you directly, right?

How old are they today?

Are they also considering support?

», Asks the listener.

In two hours, Élodie, responsible for the listening platform, has already handled four calls from a woman and one from a man. All of them reported having been sexually assaulted during childhood. For three of them, the perpetrator was an uncle, cousin or brother. The other victim is a former ward of the state who spoke of repeated violence and which continued despite being reported. Some were confiding for the first time. All the people who called expressed “

the need to be heard and that what they have experienced does not happen again for others,

” says Élodie. There were “

harsh words

” to say that “

their life was shattered, rotten

”. Some have spoken for the first time. "

A woman said to me:

"I have waited for this call for testimonies all her life," "says Élodie.

Tour de France of the victims

On each call, the listener fills out an information sheet with the first name or pseudonym of the person calling and their department number.

Its history is summarized there through a questionnaire.

A system that allows victims to call back to continue to confide without having to repeat their entire story.

On the platform, they can call between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. (on 0805 802 804 or 0800 100 811 for overseas).

They can also choose to testify in writing on the Ciivise website (www.ciivise.fr).

If they so wish, they can also be heard directly by the committee.

For listeners, the influx of calls comes as no surprise. “

We know that sexual violence against children is very widespread,

” notes Élodie. It is estimated that 160,000 children are subjected to sexual violence each year. On the walls of the premises of the Feminist Collective Against Rape, two old posters recall the first campaign led by the association in 1986, when it was created. One of them shows a child, photographed in black and white, with a soft toy in his arms. We can read these words: "

Rape by incest is a crime

". “

At the time, half of the calls we received concerned sexual violence against minors,

” recalls one activist.

Read also The horror of rape of children to order

In front of the media, Adrien Taquet, said that because of the launch of this platform, the Minister of Justice had sensitized the prosecution "

to the high probability that a certain number of files will be transmitted

" and asked them to pay "

special attention

" to it.

On October 20, the members of the Commission will begin a tour of France to meet the victims during public meetings and meet the professionals who have put in place good practices to fight against sexual violence against minors.