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Sex Crime Reports Are Up in France. Officials See a #MeToo Effect. Sex Crime Reports Are Up in France. Officials See a #MeToo Effect.
(35 minutes later)
PARIS — The police in France received drastically more reports of sexual crimes last year, according to a government analysis that found victims had grown more willing to come forward, in part because of the #MeToo movement.PARIS — The police in France received drastically more reports of sexual crimes last year, according to a government analysis that found victims had grown more willing to come forward, in part because of the #MeToo movement.
Reports of rape increased by nearly 17 percent from 2017 to 2018, and reports of other types of sexual assault, including sexual harassment, by about 20 percent, according to the analysis, an annual review of crime statistics issued on Thursday by the French Interior Ministry.Reports of rape increased by nearly 17 percent from 2017 to 2018, and reports of other types of sexual assault, including sexual harassment, by about 20 percent, according to the analysis, an annual review of crime statistics issued on Thursday by the French Interior Ministry.
The publication coincided with the conviction on Thursday of two former elite police officers, Antoine Quirin and Nicolas Redouane, who were sentenced to seven years in prison for the gang rape of a Canadian tourist, Emily Spanton, in a case that had come to be seen by some as a test of how the French authorities treat victims of sexual violence.The publication coincided with the conviction on Thursday of two former elite police officers, Antoine Quirin and Nicolas Redouane, who were sentenced to seven years in prison for the gang rape of a Canadian tourist, Emily Spanton, in a case that had come to be seen by some as a test of how the French authorities treat victims of sexual violence.
Ms. Spanton, now 39, revealed her identity to speak publicly about her ordeal and what she described as an invasive investigation, after which judges initially dismissed the case. Mr. Quirin and Mr. Redouane, whose names were initially protected under French law because they belonged to an anti-gang unit, have repeatedly denied the accusations, and are appealing their convictions.Ms. Spanton, now 39, revealed her identity to speak publicly about her ordeal and what she described as an invasive investigation, after which judges initially dismissed the case. Mr. Quirin and Mr. Redouane, whose names were initially protected under French law because they belonged to an anti-gang unit, have repeatedly denied the accusations, and are appealing their convictions.
The government’s statistics report said that the increase in reported sexual crimes was part of an upward trend that started several years ago, noting for example that the share of victims of sexual violence outside of the household who had decided to file a complaint had nearly tripled from 2016 to 2017.The government’s statistics report said that the increase in reported sexual crimes was part of an upward trend that started several years ago, noting for example that the share of victims of sexual violence outside of the household who had decided to file a complaint had nearly tripled from 2016 to 2017.
“The increase in the number of crimes reported to the security forces these past years can be tied at least in part to an improvement in the rate of complaints filed,” the report said, noting that the willingness of victims to come forward had been “amplified” by the accusations of abuse against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and by the associated #MeToo movement.“The increase in the number of crimes reported to the security forces these past years can be tied at least in part to an improvement in the rate of complaints filed,” the report said, noting that the willingness of victims to come forward had been “amplified” by the accusations of abuse against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and by the associated #MeToo movement.
The increase could also be tied to official awareness campaigns encouraging victims to come forward, and to the government’s efforts to improve the police’s handling of sexual violence cases, the report said.The increase could also be tied to official awareness campaigns encouraging victims to come forward, and to the government’s efforts to improve the police’s handling of sexual violence cases, the report said.
One of the more government’s more recent measures was an online portal for reporting sexual or sexism crimes, opened in November, through which a specially trained officer assists victims in filing official complaints. One of the government’s more recent measures was an online portal for reporting sexual or sexism crimes, opened in November, through which a specially trained officer assists victims in filing official complaints.
The government has also introduced new legislation against sexist catcalling, leading to a first conviction in September.The government has also introduced new legislation against sexist catcalling, leading to a first conviction in September.
But the report published this week cautioned that the number of cases reported to the police was still far below the number of actual victims. It pointed to surveys showing that on average, from 2011 to 2017, only one out of eight victims of sexual violence filed a complaint with the authorities.But the report published this week cautioned that the number of cases reported to the police was still far below the number of actual victims. It pointed to surveys showing that on average, from 2011 to 2017, only one out of eight victims of sexual violence filed a complaint with the authorities.
Of the roughly 19,000 people in France who reported a rape to the police in 2018, nearly 90 percent were women, and in about 30 percent of cases the perpetrator was a close family member, the report said. Women were also overwhelmingly the targets of sexual assault, representing over 80 percent of the roughly 28,000 victims who went to the police in France in 2018, the report said.Of the roughly 19,000 people in France who reported a rape to the police in 2018, nearly 90 percent were women, and in about 30 percent of cases the perpetrator was a close family member, the report said. Women were also overwhelmingly the targets of sexual assault, representing over 80 percent of the roughly 28,000 victims who went to the police in France in 2018, the report said.
In Ms. Spanton’s case, after encountering a group of police officers at a bar in April 2014, the officers invited her for a night tour of 36 Quai des Orfèvres, a police building frequently depicted in movies and television shows. Ms. Spanton said that she was then forced to drink more alcohol and that she was gang raped several times.In Ms. Spanton’s case, after encountering a group of police officers at a bar in April 2014, the officers invited her for a night tour of 36 Quai des Orfèvres, a police building frequently depicted in movies and television shows. Ms. Spanton said that she was then forced to drink more alcohol and that she was gang raped several times.
Ms. Spanton filed a complaint immediately, but after an investigation that put her through multiple psychological reviews, in 2016, a panel of investigative judges ruled that there was not enough evidence to proceed to trial. That decision was overturned on appeal the following year.Ms. Spanton filed a complaint immediately, but after an investigation that put her through multiple psychological reviews, in 2016, a panel of investigative judges ruled that there was not enough evidence to proceed to trial. That decision was overturned on appeal the following year.
At trial, the defense questioned Ms. Spanton’s credibility by cross-examining her about her clothes, her alcohol consumption and her past use of drugs. The prosecution argued that DNA testing and phone records supported her account and dismissed the claim that Ms. Spanton had been flirting with the police officers at the bar as irrelevant. “One can kiss at 10 p.m. and refuse to have sexual relations at 1 a.m.,” the prosecutor, Philippe Courroye, said in his closing arguments.At trial, the defense questioned Ms. Spanton’s credibility by cross-examining her about her clothes, her alcohol consumption and her past use of drugs. The prosecution argued that DNA testing and phone records supported her account and dismissed the claim that Ms. Spanton had been flirting with the police officers at the bar as irrelevant. “One can kiss at 10 p.m. and refuse to have sexual relations at 1 a.m.,” the prosecutor, Philippe Courroye, said in his closing arguments.
Ms. Spanton’s lawyer, Sophie Obadia, hailed the officers’ convictions as proof that France, where some have regarded the #MeToo movement with skepticism, was moving past an outdated view of sexual violence.Ms. Spanton’s lawyer, Sophie Obadia, hailed the officers’ convictions as proof that France, where some have regarded the #MeToo movement with skepticism, was moving past an outdated view of sexual violence.
“At last, in France, it is considered that a woman who was raped does not have to explain herself about her private life,” Ms. Obadia told reporters at the central Paris courthouse after the two officers were found guilty. “The court found that Ms. Spanton had not lied, was not a mythomaniac, and it based its ruling on the objective evidence of the case, which is not her word against the word of the accused.”“At last, in France, it is considered that a woman who was raped does not have to explain herself about her private life,” Ms. Obadia told reporters at the central Paris courthouse after the two officers were found guilty. “The court found that Ms. Spanton had not lied, was not a mythomaniac, and it based its ruling on the objective evidence of the case, which is not her word against the word of the accused.”