The summer was marked by several high-profile rapes or sexual assaults in the capital, and the daily Le Parisien recently reported that nearly four rape complaints had been recorded there every day since the beginning of the year.
«We must be clear, the number of complaints for sexual violence is on the rise, if I believe the latest elements communicated by the judicial police», commented Ms. Beccuau. «It is an increase which is estimated at 30% compared to last year».
«It can have two sources, an objective increase in facts but also an increase linked to the freedom of speech», according to the head of the public prosecutor’s office in Paris.
Is this the fruit of the movement
For her, «the reactivity at the judicial level is there». «The road ahead seems immense, but there are successes in protecting victims,» she insisted.
In the range of means available, «the electronic bracelets are there», in particular underlined Laure Beccuau, while associations believe that they are not deployed quickly enough.
According to the magistrate, they can present difficulties in dense agglomerations like Paris because «victims and perpetrators are in close proximity» and therefore they can «have frequent triggers», «sources of stress».
This is why we have deployed serious danger telephones», 48 currently under the jurisdiction of the Paris prosecutor’s office, for 60 available. «It is something that we are developing and for which the allocations are increasing», assured Ms. Beccuau.
She also highlighted the existence of a system developed in Paris which makes it possible to check whether a telephone is «infected or monitored» by a spouse, for example in the event of separation or harassment. According to her, it should be deployed on a large scale soon in police stations or victim support associations in the capital.
In an interview with Le Parisien on Thursday, the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez indicated that the number of «street rapes» in Paris, which only represent a part of sexual violence, are stable between July-August 2021 (25 incidents) and over the same period this year (26 facts).
«We are often on scenarios of meetings or outings in festive settings. Here again, we need more presence on the ground, to be effective in our work of judicial police but also prevention with bars, nightclubs», did he declare.