Mobilization of the police and justice, effects on health throughout life, risky behavior of victims: the Incest Commission estimates the cost of sexual violence against minors at nearly 10 billion euros per year.
“9.7 billion euros is what abusers cost us each year”, according to the accounts of the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (Ciivise), created in 2021 by the government. in the wake of the #MeToo movement, in a notice to be published on Monday.
Long-term consequences at high cost
To estimate this amount, the Ciivise relied on the firm Psytel, which specializes in public health cost studies and the prevention of violence against minors and women. This firm has, for example, calculated the costs of domestic violence (on behalf of the European Union) and those of prostitution (for the Mouvement du Nid, an association which fights against prostitution). Of these 9.7 billion, 3 billion are expenses incurred in immediate and one-off response: support for victims, police, gendarmerie and justice services, immediate medical care.
But the bulk of the total cost of this violence is linked to the long-term consequences on the health of the victims, their intimate, social and professional life. The firm estimates at 6.7 billion each year the amount of expenses induced by psychotrauma and uncreated wealth, including in particular: 2 billion for mental disorders, 1 billion for medical consultations, 2.6 billion euros in damages related to risky behavior. The loss of productivity – linked to the over-representation of victims among the unemployed or recipients of social minima – is estimated at 844 million euros.
According to the Ciivise, 160,000 children are victims of sexual violence each year in France and 5.5 million adults were victims in their childhood, most often within their family.
A specific care pathway
“Psychotrauma causes unexplained pain, severe depression, gynecological disorders. It amplifies “dissociative” behaviors, such as drug addiction, alcoholism, violence against oneself… And it leads one in two people to attempt suicide”, declares the magistrate and co-president of the Commission, Edouard Durand, at the Sunday newspaper.
To reduce this collective cost, society must invest in the prevention of sexual violence (rapid identification, safety of the child, etc.) and specialized care to treat trauma that prevents victims from living normally, advocates the Ciivise. In her opinion published on Monday, she details “a course of specialized care for psychotrauma” for children and adult victims of sexual violence in childhood, in 20 to 33 sessions, which would be “supported by national solidarity”.
Prevent the recurrence of violence
Treating psychotraumatism “reduces the long-term consequences of violence and prevents its repetition”, according to Judge Durand, who specifies that 35 to 40% of abusers have suffered violence in childhood.
However, victims take on average between 10 and 13 years to find specialized medical care in France. And the vast majority of health professionals do not make the link between the patient’s state of health and the violence suffered years ago, notes the Commission.
The Ciivise is supposed to submit its final report in November. It calls for an extension of its lifespan, to “evaluate and strengthen public policies to combat sexual violence”, “train, support and accompany professionals” and thus improve prevention.