The frightening figures for reports of sexual violence in sport in France

Parmi les personnes mises en cause, il y a une “représentation importante des éducateurs sportifs”, à plus de 60 % (365). MAXPPP – Michael Bunel

The ministerial unit which records sexual violence in sport recorded more than 600 reports of sexual violence after the revelations of skater Sarah Abitbol in early 2020.

In total, 655 people are accused, including 97% men, in the context of 610 cases in total, concerning 54 sports federations, as of the end of December 2021.

These figures were revealed this Wednesday March 9 during the 3rd convention for the prevention of violence in sport which took place at the National Assembly, in the presence of Roxana Maracineanu , Minister responsible for Sports, and several other ministers such as Jean-Michel Blanquer (education), Eric Dupond-Moretti (justice), and Adrien Taquet (childhood).

#TousConcernés #violences #sport "Je suis fière de ces sportives et sportifs qui ont osé prendre la parole.
Le temps de l’omerta, du silence, de la solitude est terminé. La souffrance ne disparaîtra pas pour autant mais vous n’êtes plus seules", @RoxaMaracineanu pic.twitter.com/Pt6nO2iquc

— Ministère des Sports 🇫🇷 (@Sports_gouv) March 9, 2022

"The time of silence is over" welcomed Roxana Maracineanu, in front of some of the sportswomen victims of violence in the past: the skater Sarah Abitbol, ​​the tennis player Isabelle Demongeot, and the athlete Catherine Moyon de Baecque.< /p>

Fabienne Bourdais, ministerial delegate for the fight against violence in sport, reported around a hundred cases for 2021 and more ' ;thirty reports since the start of the year" 2022.

The cell is better known and the facts are reported more systematically

"This subject is not behind us," she commented. "This testifies that this liberation of speech, undoubtedly still relative, is effective" and also that the reports do not only concern old facts. "The cell is better known and the facts come back more systematically", she said.

Among those implicated, there is a "significant representation of sports educators", at more than 60% (365). 90% of cases concern acts with a sexual connotation, 10% being acts of physical or psychological violence, and 80% concern females.

"The boys who are victims are very young, less than 15 years old", Ms. Bourdais also specified. Nearly 70% of investigations are closed, Ms. Bourdais further clarified. 47% of those accused in cases referred to the cell were the subject of a criminal complaint or a prosecution.

At the administrative level, 291 measures were issued by the prefects. The implementation of the integrity check of volunteers gradually since September 2021 has made it possible to check 341,000 volunteers from 68 federations. These checks resulted in 17 measures of incapacity to work as a sports instructor or operator.