“I did not measure the extent of the earthquake”, acknowledged from the outset the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu. In a conference on violence in sport given on Wednesday, the Sports Ministry took stock, six months after the launch of a national convention on the prevention of sexual violence in sport. As of June 1, 177 suspected assailants have been identified by the ministry. Nearly 90 legal proceedings are underway in these cases, and 16 people are currently incarcerated, said Roxana Maracineanu. Among the victims, 98% are minors.
State attention to cases of violence has increased in recent months. The Sports Ministry said on Wednesday it had received more than 2,000 emails reporting cases or testifying to violence. In six months, 67 administrative measures were taken, “bans on exercising against sports educators” especially, “three times more than in the last 10 years”.
70% of victims are women
This new vigilance is in the wake of several press surveys revealing numerous cases of sexual violence against minors in amateur and professional sport in France. Online investigative media Disclose had notably revealed serious shortcomings, both at the level of federations and clubs, as well as at the level of local authorities, the State or the justice system.
According to the Ministry of Sports, 40 sports federations are affected out of 115. 70% of the victims are women, 78% of the violence recorded is sexual assault. If half of the incidents occurred before 2019, 39 aggressors acted in 2019 and / or in 2020. One “national plan to combat sexual violence” is scheduled for next September.
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