French commission wants to remove statute of limitations for sexual violence against children

PARIS (AP) — A French commission examining sexual violence against children called Friday for the removal of all time limits on prosecuting people suspected of rape and sexual assault against minors.

The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children, known as Ciivise, also said in a report released Friday that when sexual abuse of children happens within families it should be defined as a separate offense under the law.

The statue of limitation for sexual crimes against children is 30 years from the time the victim turns 18 and becomes an adult under French law. The commission says that removing the time limit is necessary because it can take decades for victims to be able to speak out.

The commission of independent experts was established two years ago after child abuse accusations involving a prominent French political expert unleashed a massive social media campaign of hundreds of people sharing appalling accounts about how they were sexually abused when they were children.

Every year 160,000 children are victim of sexual violence in France, according to the report’s findings. Its conclusions and recommendations are based on 27,000 victims’ accounts that were analyzed by experts over two years.

On average, the victims cited in the report were eight years old when sexual abuse had began - 80% of them were victims of sexual violence perpetrated by a family member. For three quarters of these victims, the statue of limitation is preventing them from seeking justice in court, the report said.

In French, the word “inceste” is widely used to refer to any sexual act between members of the same family, including abuse of children, stepchildren and younger siblings.

The debate about France’s response to child abuse within families broke out in 2021 amid accusations involving top political expert Olivier Duhamel. A book written by Duhamel’s stepdaughter, Camille Kouchner, accused him of abusing her twin brother during the late 1980s, when the siblings were 13 years old.

Some children protection groups have been pushing to introduce statutory rape in law, which would state a legal age below which a child cannot agree to a sexual relationship with an adult.

Under French law, sexual relations between an adult and a minor under 15 are banned. Yet the law accepts the possibility that a minor is capable of consenting to sex, leading to cases where an adult faces a lighter prison sentence for sexual assault than if prosecuted for rape, which is punishable by 20 years in prison.

Many activists have advocated for removing the statute of limitations, because the trauma is so deep it can take decades for victims to be able to speak out and face their abuser. The law currently provides that minor victims can file complaints until they are aged 48.

The World Health Organization say international studies show that one in five women and one in 13 men report having been sexually abused as a child aged under 18. Experts say sexual abuses are likely to be underestimated amid secrecy often surrounding the issue.