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.[1]
Statistics
In 1971, the rate of declared rapes stood at 2.0 per 100,000 people.[2] In 1995, it was 12.5.[3] In 2009, it stood at 16.2.[4]
According to a 2012 report, about 75,000 rapes take place each year.[5] In 2012, there were 1,293 reported rapes in a population of 66 million,[6] and 1,188 rapes in 2013 in a population of 66 million.[7]
In 2015, rape rate for France was 20.1 cases per 100,000 population. Rape rate of France increased from 15.9 cases per 100,000 population in 2006 to 20.1 cases per 100,000 population in 2015 growing at an average annual rate of 2.72%.[8]
Gang rape
According to a 2014 report, about 5,000 to 7,000 of the rapes are
gang rapes.[9] Gang-rapes are referred to as
tournantes, or "pass-arounds".[10][11] 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 ("In Gang Rape Hell").[10][11]
Notable offenders
Gilles de Rais (
c. 1405 – 1440) - Convicted of rape, murder and torture, he was executed.[12]
Vigarello, Georges (2001). A History of Rape: Sexual Violence in France from the 16th to the 20th Century. Wiley.
ISBN9780745621692.
References
^Inger Skjelsb K; Inger Skjelsbæk (13 February 2012). The Political Psychology of War Rape: Studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Routledge. p. 48.
ISBN9781136620928.
^Veeraraghavan, Vimala (1987). Rape and Victims of Rape: A Socio-psychological Analysis. Northern Book Centre.
^Simon, Rita James. A Comparative Perspective on Major Social Problems. Lexington Books. pp. 20–21.
^
abIreland, Susan (Winter 2007). "Textualizing Trauma in Samira Bellil's Dans l'enfer des tournantes and Fabrice Génestal's La squale". Dalhousie French Studies. 81: 131–141.
JSTOR40837893.
^Dutton, Donald G. (2007). The Psychology of Genocide, Massacres, and Extreme Violence: Why "normal" People Come to Commit Atrocities. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 129.
^Wendy De Bondt; Nina Peršak; Charlotte Ryckman (2012). The Disqualification Triad: Approximating Legislation, Executing Requests, Ensuring Equivalence. Maklu. p. 84.
^Stone, Ciana (2012). Redeemed. Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc. p. 38.