In a poignant letter, a victim of the Philippine murder suspect spoke out this Sunday. She wants the launch of a commission of inquiry into “the prevention of recidivism in cases of sexual crimes”.
In a letter addressed to AFP, a previous victim of the main suspect in Philippine’s murder, Taha Oualidat (already convicted of rape in 2021) spoke out this Sunday, September 29. Written after Philippine’s death, it highlights in particular the administrative dysfunctions of the obligations to leave French territory (OQTF) as well as the failures in the treatment of rapists to avoid recidivism. This young woman who wished to remain anonymous was raped by Taha O., during an attack in 2019 in the Taverny forest (Val-d’Oise). She quickly filed a complaint, and her attacker was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The “dysfunction” of the OQTF must not “obliterate the question of recidivism”
“Why were we unable to stop this escalation of violence leading to the murder of a young woman?” asks the editor. At the heart of the debate, knowledge of the profile of the attacker. “My attacker was sentenced to the almost maximum penalty incurred for this type of crime committed by a minor and was imprisoned. Immediately after his release, he allegedly reoffended and committed the irreparable (…) The dangerousness of Taha O. was known. A man who rapes a woman is dangerous whether he is unknown to his victim or her husband, whether he is foreign or French, whether the rape took place in a forest or in a marital apartment. a crime. It is the radical of violence, it contains within it a negation of the other, of their right to be and to exist”, she explains in a poignant story. But that’s not all, the young woman is not avoiding the OQTF from which her attacker should have been removed. She even mentions it several times in her letter, however, she questions herself and invites society to become aware of the support that could be put in place to avoid this type of recurrence.
The obligation to leave French territory which had been issued against the attacker of this young woman was not carried out. “The reasons for this dysfunction must be clarified and these flaws corrected,” she says. The “dysfunction” of the OQTF must not, however, “obliterate the essential question of recidivism”. “What measures to prevent recidivism are planned and actually implemented in detention centers? What is the impact of detention in reducing the risk of recidivism? What reintegration support programs are planned?” she questions. Questions that resonate all the louder after the death of 19-year-old Philippine. “It seems essential to me that we collectively question the effectiveness of the means put in place and those to be created so that what happened does not happen again,” warns the young woman.
“I would like to launch a commission of inquiry”
“Even if this OQTF had been respected, what international cooperation mechanisms exist to prevent the recurrence of sexist and sexual crimes by deported criminals? Our fraternity, our humanism, cannot stop at the gates of our borders,” continues – She. In her letter, the first victim of Taha O. makes a proposal to try to reduce the holes in the racket that still persist regarding sexual and sexist crimes: “I would like the launch of a commission of inquiry into prevention of recidivism in cases of sexual and gender-based crimes”, she says, like a bottle in the sea, perhaps aimed at political leaders and the justice system which must now shed light on Philippine’s murder.