Annual Seminar of the Master's Degree in Personal Injury Law – Care for Women and Children Victims of Sexual Violence

April 2, 2021, 9:30 a.m. - April 2, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

The Antoine Favre Law Research Center at the University of Savoie Mont Blanc is organizing its annual seminar for the Master's degree in Personal Injury Law (DDC) on the theme: "Caring for women and children who are victims of sexual violence." It will take place on Friday, April 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The event is organized via the online tool Zoom. It is free and open to everyone upon registration. [Register]

about the seminar

The past year, due to lockdown measures related to the health crisis, has seen a further increase in the number of complaints related to domestic violence against women and children, reaching a level unmatched in previous years: 1,468 complaints received in the last 12 months, compared to 747 the previous year.

According to a survey commissioned by the association Face à l'inceste (Facing Incest), 6.7 million French people claim to be victims of incest, 78% of whom are women. These figures are rising sharply. As for women, 1 in 3 women is a victim of violence during her lifetime. Three out of four female victims report having suffered repeated incidents. Eight out of ten female victims report also having been subjected to psychological abuse or verbal assault.

A survey on sexual violence conducted in 2019 by Ipsos forthe association Mémoire Traumatique et Victimologie (Traumatic Memory andVictimology ) reveals that children are the main victims of sexual violence: 81% of cases of assault begin before the victim reaches the age of 18, and before the age of 11 for one in two victims. In 94% of cases, the perpetrator is someone close to the victim; in half of cases, they are a member of the victim's family. These significant figures raise many questions.

At present, our entire society is mobilizing to prevent and punish violence. Shame and guilt are often the result of violence that undermines the dignity of victims. Control, particularly over women and children, prevents them from expressing their suffering and reporting it.

While people are speaking out on social media using hashtags such as #balance ton porc, #metoo, and #Iwas, the question arises as to whether our legal and judicial system is capable of supporting these victims, given that only 10% of victims file complaints, 74% of complaints are dismissed, and of the remaining 26%, the vast majority are reclassified as sexual assault.

How should victims' statements be received? How should the damage and harm resulting from physical and psychological violence be assessed? What are the specific features of expert assessments, legal proceedings, and compensation? Can the law provide answers to these questions?

These issues will be addressed during presentations and roundtable discussions with recognized experts in the field: magistrates, psychiatric experts, psychologists, lawyers, representatives of the Guarantee Fund, and academics will be present during the discussions.

The seminar is organized by the Antoine Favre Law Research Center, under the direction of Laurence Clerc-Renaud (head of the Master 2 program in Personal Injury Law, lecturer at USMB) and Lynda Lettat-Ouatah (deputy head of the Master 2 program in Personal Injury Law and lawyer at the Lyon Bar).

[See the program]

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