Testimonies have been revealed in recent weeks relating to incidents of sexual assault within the armed forces. The government decided to act by launching an inspection mission.
Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, announced this Friday April 12 in a joint forum with the Secretary of State for Veterans, Patricia Miralles, published in The world, the launch of an inspection mission on sexual violence in the armed forces. “We have mandated the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces to carry out a mission on all prevention measures, protection of victims and punishment of attackers,” he revealed in the forum. The mission will submit its report at the end of May in order to succeed in improving the care of victims and analyzing the disciplinary treatment and sanctions against the attackers.
The minister envisages that for each “suspicion of rape or sexual assault presenting sufficient plausibility, the person involved will be systematically suspended from his duties”. He also calls on victims to break their silence: “a soldier joins the armies of France to protect, never to attack. So, yes, being sexually assaulted or harassed, even when you are a soldier, makes you a victim; the victim of a fratricidal act that you have a duty to denounce.
It’s up to the aggressor to step out of line.
Every victim must be listened to, heard, protected.
Anyone accused of probable facts will be suspended, and severely sanctioned if they are proven.
A mission from the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces will deliver its assessment at the end of May
— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) April 12, 2024
Numerous reports and shocking testimonies
According to BFMTV, in 2023, 226 reports of sexual or gender-based violence in the army resulted in the opening of a file. These are the figures from the latest report from the Thémis cell, created in 2014 and focused on this type of accusations. In addition, a series of damning testimonies have been revealed in recent weeks, going so far as to launch a real Metoo movement in the army.
It is a case of sexual assault in the navy, brought about by the testimony of a young recruit named Manon Dubois, who started the movement. In 2019, while she was assigned to the kitchen aboard a boat in the port of Brest, a military electrotechnician allegedly increased the number of inappropriate gestures to the point of sexually assaulting her, as she had confided to France Blue. Manon Dubois was reportedly the victim of a total of around sixty attacks. In 2021, the young woman filed a complaint but her attacker only received 10 days of arrest and a fine of 600 euros for the victim. For her part, she was advised to move away from the institution, thus ending her career.
Furthermore, in early April, eight women and one man broke the silence in Paris Match. One of them would have experienced an ordeal from the first days of her training, which began in May 2022. Ninon Mathey says that her direct superior began by complimenting her before drifting towards inappropriate remarks. During a commando training course, he called her alone and threatened her: “I’m going to take you to the forest, you’ll have to accept that look.” After these first threats, the young woman claims to have been the victim of “sexual assault”. Her attacker only received a few days of community service, according to her, while for her part, she never recovered. She also said that speaking to her superiors was impossible because “from the moment you speak, you become a problem.” She even claims to have been pushed towards the exit too.