Rape in France


In France, rape is illegal, and marital rape is also illegal. In recent years there has been increase of reported rape cases in France.

Studies

Rape has been documented across French history. Georges Vigarello in his 2001 book writes about the history of rape in France, highlighting events from 16th to 20th century. He states that rape has historically been seen as a form of violence, but not punished as such.

Statistics

In 1971, the rate of declared rapes stood at 2.0 per 100,000 people. In 1995, it was 12.5. In 2009, it stood at 16.2.
According to a 2012 report, about 75,000 rapes take place each year. In 2012, there were 1,293 reported rapes in a population of 66 million, and 1,188 rapes in 2013 in a population of 66 million.

Alleged rape of Théodore Luhaka 2017

The alleged rape of young black man Théodore Luhaka by the police with a baton took place in the Aulnay-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb. Following the incident, Luhaka suffered from a longitudinal 10 cm wound to his anal canal and sphincter muscle, probably caused by the insertion of a telescopic stick, which resulted in a temporary disability of sixty days. This resulted in riots and protests taking place between 4 and 15 February 2017, Following the initial reports of the assault on Théo, there was unrest for two nights in Aulnay-sous-Bois. Several cars were lit on fire, bus shelters had windows smashed and suburb had its street lighting knocked out. Five people were arrested. The unrest later spread to other suburbs of Paris. On Saturday 11 February, a crowd of people gathered to protest police brutality in Bobigny. While the protest was mostly peaceful, a small group of protestors began throwing objects at police and setting cars on fire. Police responded by deploying tear gas and arresting 37 people. The next night, 12 February, around 50 youths gathered in Argenteuil and began throwing objects at police. They also set cars and garbage bins on fire and attacked a public bus. The group assault the bus's driver and also assaulted a journalist. 11 people, eight of them minors, were arrested.
On the night of the 15th, 49 people were arrested around Paris after engaging in similar behaviors with most of the unrest occurring near the Gare du Nord and Place de la République. 21 people were also arrested in Rouen the same night.
French president François Hollande visited Théo in the hospital on 7 February. A policeman told Le Parisien that events were similar to the 2005 French riots. Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, called for better law enforcement on 7 February 2017, saying "I know how exposed the police and gendarmes are in the fight against terrorism and violence, but they must be absolutely exemplary at every moment."

Gang rape

According to a 2014 report, about 5,000 to 7,000 of the rapes are gang rapes. Gang-rapes are referred to as :fr:viol en réunion#Le phénomène dit des « tournantes »|tournantes, or "pass-arounds". One of the first people to bring public attention to the culture of gang rape was Samira Bellil, who published a book called Dans l'enfer des tournantes.

Notable offenders