France: sexual assault scandal in sports

Paris. A national campaign against sexual violence in sports in France has uncovered more than 400 coaches, teachers and other figures suspected of committing or covering up abuse.

Most of the victims were under 15 years old, according to data released by the Ministry of Sports after a year of investigation. The alleged abuses include assaults, harassment and other forms of violence.

Sixty people are prosecuted and more than 100 have lost their jobs temporarily or permanently. Other cases are being investigated, the ministry said.

The abuse has spread across the country and numerous disciplines, with allegations against a total of 48 sports federations.

96% of the suspects are men. 83% of the victims are women and 63% are under the age of 15, the ministry said.

The investigation was started in February 2020 when 10-time French speed skating champion Sarah Abitbol said in a book that coach Gilles Beyer raped her several times between 1990 and 1992, when she was a teenager. Beyer has to answer the preliminary charges of sexual assault and the investigation continues.

After Abitbol’s allegations, other skaters denounced the coaches’ alleged sexual assaults. The Ministry of Sports created a platform to receive testimonials from athletes and held hearings for a year.

The ministry said in a statement that Abitbol’s testimony is “a historic moment for French sport” that has raised awareness and prompted authorities to fight abuse. Since Friday, stricter rules apply for the evaluation of sports teachers, including voluntary coaches. The government and sports federations are determined to respond more quickly and effectively to allegations of abuse.

Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu has played a vital role in raising awareness. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the former swimming champion described her own experiences with sexism and said it is time to change French attitudes to women’s rights in the male-dominated sports world.

At a government meeting on Friday to review the campaign against sexual assault, Abitbol said it is “curative” and is pleased to see other victims filing public complaints, L’Equipe daily reported. Former tennis champion Isabelle Demongeot described the “battle” she had to wage against the public and her colleagues by accusing her coach of rape. Former hammer thrower Catherine Moyon de Beacque, the first to publicly denounce the abuses in 1991, praised the current measures being taken “at the highest level of the state”.