Entitled “The hell of the decor”, the investigation carried out by senators points to the sexual violence perpetrated and conveyed by the pornographic industry. A damning report that calls for action by public authorities.
After more than six months of work, four senators present this Wednesday a damning report on the porn industry entitled “The hell of the decor”. Throughout these 140 pages that BFMTV.com has been able to consult, the rapporteurs draw up the dark portrait of a prolific company, made up of professionals and amateurs, and which “generates systemic violence against women, whether they are those who find themselves in these productions or those who suffer a sexuality modeled on the norms of violence conveyed by porn”.
Actors and actresses, sociologists and associations interviewed describe to senators a massification of pornography sometimes assimilated to “modern slavery”. An environment governed by the lure of profit, blind and deaf to the abuse, domination and limitless exploitation of women’s bodies.
“There are absolutely no rules, no control, not even concerning the wearing of condoms. Often, the woman finds herself alone in front of groups of men”, testifies the journalist Marie Maurisse, author of Planet Porn, Survey on the trivialization of X.
The consent of actresses, often in a precarious financial situation, is extorted. Women are forced to “do as many things as possible in front of the camera” and subjected to a “trivialization of extreme sexual practices”, she continues.
“Ideal prey”
Thus, among the categories of pornographic content offered on the Internet, “you will find (…) the category of rape, with unambiguous keywords: anal surprise, taken by surprise, unwanted facial… These are incitements to commit crimes (…) There are also categories of kidnapping or sequestration (…) Again, it’s not fake. When the woman cries, she really cries”, explains Claire Charlès, spokesperson for the association Les Cheeky.es.
It is in this context that French justice seized for the first time, in 2020, on the subject of sexual violence in this environment. Judicial information has been opened against the French Bukkake platform for “rape in meetings, aggravated trafficking in human beings and aggravated pimping” leading to the indictment of twelve individuals.
Interviewed by the senators, the victims report the same recruitment system, based on the young age of the actresses and their precariousness, through false Facebook or Instagram profiles.
“We are spoken to every day. The person introduces herself as an escort, she tells me that it is wonderful, that it is magic, that she has money galore. (…) Behind this false profile of daughter, there was a man”, explains a young woman.
Recruiters target their prey: “They knew I had money worries. I was the ideal prey for them, that’s how we get into it,” she explains, while another abounds: “I needed this money right away. I had to pay my bills and my rent otherwise I would lose my apartment.”
“Lobotomized”, “dehumanized”
Once baited, the young women are put in touch with the producer Pascal OP who offers a filming of pornographic scenes, specifying that the videos will not be broadcast in France. This is followed by verbal, physical and psychological violence with imposed sexual practices, and sexual and financial blackmail if the actresses demand the removal of the videos.
“The first rape, with all the stratagems, made me a robot who only obeys men who have lobotomized me, it has trivialized these acts”, says a victim.
A testimony that echoes the “dehumanization” denounced by the senators and which seems limitless: another victim claims to have been forced to eat the same food as that given to the producer’s dogs during a filming. “Lobotomization”, “dehumanization” and even “torture”. When an actress opposes anal sex, the production then brushes aside her reservations: “Don’t piss off, it’s going to go fast”.
“We don’t realize that it’s rape, that it’s torture. We’re in pain, we’re helpless. Another man, another rape, forced sodomy (…) still no condom,” she says.
Disclaimer
The leaders of French Bukkake are not the only ones to be overtaken by justice since the omerta began to crack. In 2020, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation against the Jacquie et Michel brand. The CEO of the group (ARES) and three other people are being prosecuted for “complicity in rape” and “trafficking in human beings in an organized gang”. A responsibility strongly disputed by the respondents.
“The role of broadcaster that we have created an amalgam and we look forward to being able to explain it to investigators in order to show the seriousness of our businesses and the fierce desire that the adult industry be as respectable and respected as any other industry”, defended Michel Piron, the CEO, in a letter addressed to the rapporteurs.
Jacquie et Michel thus brandishes its status as a broadcaster to discharge itself of any responsibility related to the content of the videos posted online. However, “broadcasters (…) know very well that some videos are shot in deplorable conditions, with abuse. They do everything they can to avoid being responsible. I am obviously thinking of Dorcel or Jacquie and Michel, who put up barriers”, underlines the journalist Robin d’Angelo, author of Judy, Lola, Sofia and mea survey of the pornography scene in France.
Can these abuses, long ignored by French justice, be curbed? With this harsh criticism of the porn industry, the senators hope to raise awareness and obtain the total mobilization of the government and public opinion in order to initiate a paradigm shift.