“As long as a loved one has not been confronted with it, the subject is easily evaded. The danger of sectarian aberrations is not sufficiently taken into account by society, ”blows Pierre Boucher-Doigneau. Within the association which he chairs in Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes d’Armor and Mayenne, most of the volunteers “have been marked”. In 1974, it was in Rennes that the first association for the defense of families and individuals (ADFI) was born. A couple created the structure after their 18-year-old son went missing to join the Unification Church, better known as the Moon Sect. Hundreds of testimonies from families will be collected by his parents, who will participate in informing about this movement. Since then, the association has spread: 27 branches in the country and a national union that has become an essential interlocutor for the authorities. Today, for the first time, the fight against sectarian aberrations is supported by a ministerial portfolio attached to the Ministry of the Interior and led by Marlène Schiappa. A call for projects intends to allocate 1 million euros to associations in the field.
“Therapeutic drifts”
With a handful of volunteers, ADFI Rennes makes around a hundred reports each year on around thirty different drifts. “Few of the victims come of their own accord. They feel uncomfortable and feel guilty. At 95%, it is co-victims such as parents, children or relatives who come to see us, ”says Pierre Boucher-Doigneau. The majority of reports currently concern therapeutic abuses, And if the association lacks volunteers for the next generation, the fight against sectarian abuses, at the same time, is becoming more complex. “In the past, the sectarian phenomenon revolved around major movements reported by a parliamentary committee. Despite a drop in recruitment, these structured organizations continue to act. What is new is that a nebula of more individual and difficult to locate groups has engulfed itself in deviant therapies, the new-age, esotericism, shamanism, all methods which fall under the search for well-being at at all costs and which can have dramatic consequences ”.
With the pandemic, the phenomenon of healers has increased. The isolation of containment and the “filter bubbles generated by computer algorithms” have created a new audience in search of answers. And thanks to social networks, physical presence is no longer necessarily necessary. Evidenced by the popularity of YouTuber Thierry Casasnovas, who advocates the replacement of cancer drugs by “raw food” and is currently under investigation for endangering the life of others. “Everyone is free of their moral rights, we are not in a liberticidal state. Our role is to define whether there is a hold and a drift, which can be characterized by a break with his usual environment and his previous life or by significant financial losses. In French law, the sect does not exist, it is necessary to define the drift. If there is a crime – abuse of weakness, tax offenses or illegal practice of medicine – we try to convince victims to file a complaint. But they are often afraid to spread what happened to them or may still be in a grip. The phenomenon of influence is difficult to apprehend, but it was very well described in the film Les éblouis ”continues Pierre Boucher-Doigneau. In Rennes, legal proceedings are launched two to three per year after reports.
In 2020, Miviludes, responsible for advising victims, noted a 30% increase in reports of sectarian aberrations in France. According to a report commissioned by Marlène Schiappa, 140,000 people were under control, including 90,000 minors, and 500 micro-groups were operating in the territory. Without presidency for more than three years, Miviludes saw the arrival of a magistrate in April. Hanène Romdhane will be responsible for managing a structure whose budget has been increased. A pledge of hope for the president of Adfi in Rennes.
For people facing sectarian aberrations or looking for information on the subject, ADFI Ille-et-Vilaine can be contacted at 09.99.51.10.06
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