17 French ex-ministers launch campaign against harassment of women
A number of French former ministers have launched a campaign to “systematically denounce” all kinds of sexual abuse against women in France.
“We will no longer keep quiet,” said 17 former ministers, all women, in a statement published by the Journal du Dimanche weekly paper on Sunday.
We promise to “systematically denounce all sexist remarks, inappropriate gestures and inappropriate behavior,” they added.
The ex-ministers said in their joint statement that when they entered the male-dominated realm of politics, they were forced “to either submit to or fight against sexism.”
They said it is now time for a change in that pattern. “It’s not for women to adapt to these environments. It’s the behavior of certain men that needs to change.”
The group of former ministers encouraged French women to stand up for their rights and make use of the “judicial arsenal” provided by the law in their efforts against male dominance.
Among the figures are International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s chief Christine Lagarde, ex-Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot and ex-Housing Minister Cecile Duflot.
Women’s Rights Minister Laurence Rossignol, speaking on the France 3 television channel later, outlined two specific moves in the campaign.
“The first is to swiftly adopt the draft law currently going through parliament... which lengthens the time limits for a range of [abuse-related] offences from three to six years,” she said, calling upon the Senate, or upper house of parliament, to pass the measure.
The second initiative “is to allow associations to file complaints instead of the victims,” through an amendment that will be examined by parliament next month, she added.
French judges on Tuesday opened an investigation into claims of sexual harassment of several women by former deputy parliamentary speaker Denis Baupin.
Baupin, 53, who resigned this week, had allegedly groped and sent numerous text messages containing lewd remarks to a number of women he was in contact with, including politicians.
The Green Party politician, however, has vigorously denied the claims and has instructed his lawyers to sue two French media outlets for defamation, calling the allegations “mendacious.”
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