French National Assembly moves to overhaul response to sexual violence and abuse

France has taken a step towards overhauling how it tackles sexual violence after MPs passed a sweeping bill without a single vote against. It would create specialist police units and courts, abuse checks in schools and leave for victims – but protections for foreign women were dropped and the cost is still unclear. The legislation, known as the “comprehensive” bill, was adopted by 503 votes to none in the National Assembly on Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate for further examination. MPs from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party abstained, objecting in particular to the removal of measures intended to protect foreign women. The bill grew out of years of campaigning by feminist groups and was put on parliament’s agenda following the rape and murder of Lyhanna, an 11-year-old girl, in south-west France. The man suspected of killing her had previously faced several complaints of sexual violence against underage girls – a case that intensified calls for such complaints to be investigated more systematically. Eight political groups, ranging from the Communists to the Republicans, sponsored the bill. “It may not be perfect, but we came together with campaign groups to make progress collectively,” National Assembly speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet told broadcaster LCI. “It is a magnificent example of the good that the assembly can do.” Calls for child protection reforms in wake of schoolgirl Lyhanna's death From complaint to courtroom Under the bill, police would have to carry out a minimum set of investigative steps within a year – including interviewing the victim and suspect, preserving evidence and looking for other potential victims – to reduce the risk of complaints being dropped without sufficient investigation. Specialist police units would also be created, with authorities given three years to establish them. The bill provides for legal consequences if cases that should be handled by those units are dealt with outside them. Courts dealing with offences including sexual and domestic violence would also be required to have at least two judges and a prosecutor with specialist expertise in such cases, an approach inspired by measures introduced in Spain. Victims would be entitled to 10 days of leave to deal with medical or legal matters linked to the violence they had suffered. Detecting abuse at school By 2032, pupils from nursery school through to the end of secondary education would have a compulsory annual interview aimed at detecting possible abuse. Until then, four such interviews would be required during a pupil’s schooling, under a phased approach that partly reflects staffing concerns raised by the Education Ministry. Child victims would also receive dedicated care, including treatment for psychological trauma covered by France’s public health insurance system. The bill would widen the legal definition of incest to include sexual relations involving first cousins. It would also extend restrictions on marriage between close relatives. French incest commission reveals horrors of child abuse inside families Protections for foreign victims dropped Lawmakers rejected several provisions intended to protect foreign victims of sexual violence, including a measure that would have prevented authorities from ordering a victim who had filed a complaint to leave France. The removal of clauses protecting foreign women, who are among “the most vulnerable”, was regrettable, said Céline Thiébault-Martinez, the Socialist MP leading work on the legislation. Even so, she said the text had been “considerably enriched” during parliamentary debate and remained “a very good bill to combat violence against women and children”. Funding remains an open question. The government has pledged to assess the cost of the measures and set out how they would be financed as the legislation continues its passage through parliament. Supporters want the bill passed into law before next year’s presidential election. (with newswires) The text, known as the "comprehensive" bill, was adopted by 503 votes to zero in the National Assembly on Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate for further examination. MPs from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party abstained, objecting in particular to the removal of measures to protect foreign women. The legislation grew out of feminist campaigning and was put on parliament's agenda after the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, Lyhanna, in south-west France. The man suspected of killing her had previously faced several complaints of sexual violence against underage girls. Eight political groups, from the Communists to the Republicans sponsored the bill. "It may not be perfect, but we came together with campaign groups to make progress collectively," National Assembly speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet told broadcaster LCI. "It is a magnificent example of the good that the assembly can do." Calls for child protection reforms in wake of schoolgirl Lyhanna's death From complaint to courtroom Under the law, police would have to carry out a minimum set of steps within a year – interviewing the victim and suspect, preserving evidence and looking for other victims – so complaints are not dropped without being properly investigated. Specialist police units would also be created, with three years to set them up. Failure to use them could invalidate the legal proceedings. Every court dealing with less serious offences would need at least two judges and a prosecutor specialising in sexual and domestic violence, an approach inspired by Spain. Victims would get 10 days of leave to deal with medical or legal matters. Detecting abuse at school By 2032, pupils from nursery school through to the end of secondary school would have a compulsory annual interview aimed at detecting abuse. Until then, four interviews would be required over a pupil's schooling, a phased approach partly reflecting staffing difficulties raised by the Education Ministry. Child victims would receive dedicated care, including treatment for psychological trauma covered by France's public health insurance system. The text would also widen the definition of incest offences to include first cousins and ban them from marrying. French incest commission reveals horrors of child abuse inside families Foreign victims sidelined Lawmakers rejected several provisions for foreign victims, including a ban on ordering a victim of sexual violence who had filed a complaint to leave France. Cutting clauses that would have protected foreign women, who are among "the most vulnerable", was regrettable, said Céline Thiébault-Martinez, the Socialist MP leading work on the legislation. Even so, the text had been "considerably enriched" during the debates and remained "a very good bill to combat violence against women and children". Funding remains an open question. The government has pledged to cost the measures and present a spending plan after the Senate's review. Supporters want the bill passed into law before next year's presidential election. (with newswires)