“Never again will a child victim of incest hear that it was too late to speak”: the Senate approves the imprescriptibility of sexual crimes committed against minors

The Senate paves the way for the final adoption of a text which would push back the ax of prescription.

The upper house voted on Wednesday October 28 for the imprescriptibility of sexual crimes committed against minors, extending this exception previously reserved for crimes against humanity and opening the way to a major change in French justice.

During the examination of the child protection bill, senators voted largely for this development with 252 votes for and 80 against, supported by the government.

The National Assembly had already approved this historic measure this summer, but in a broader wording, including more crimes.

The vote by the Senate, known to be conservative on these issues, paves the way for the final adoption of the measure in the coming weeks after consultations between the two chambers of Parliament.

It must first be validated during a solemn vote on the entire child protection bill on Tuesday in the Senate, which leaves little doubt.

Then the parliamentarians of the two chambers will try to agree during a joint committee (CMP) to arrive at a common text.

Indeed, the Senate's drafting is limited to sexual crimes, including rape, aggravated and incestuous rape, while that of the deputies also targeted other crimes such as murders, a writing considered fragile by the government with regard to the Constitution.

Currently, a victim of rape suffered in childhood can file a complaint up to the age of 48, the limitation period being thirty years from the age of majority, a period considered insufficient by certain child protection associations.

Only the right voted mainly against the adoption of the text

But at a time when society is beginning to become aware of the extent of violence committed against children, in the wake of several cases or scandals which have stirred public opinion, such as the Lyhanna affair or the violence perpetrated in after-school settings, Parliament has gradually opened up to a profound reform of prescription, a founding principle of the law.

“Never again will a child victim of incest hear that it was too late to speak.

It's a revolution in children's listening.

And it’s an immense emotion!” the Minister Delegate for Equality between Women and Men Aurore Bergé was moved by X, after having fought for a long time in the hemicycle to obtain this victory.

The Senate was difficult to convince: it had also rejected this measure in the law committee in recent days, denouncing in particular a "major break" with "legal tradition".

Several senators from the right and the center tried, in vain, to dissuade their colleagues: "There are victims who speak because the statute of limitations has expired", insisted Muriel Jourda (Les Républicains), accusing the supporters of the measure of making "a choice between the victims".

In the end, the vote was broad: only the right voted mainly against, alongside a handful of centrists and three socialists.