Chemical submission, at the heart of the extraordinary trial of serial rapes which opens in Avignon on Monday for four months, is a scourge which is as prevalent in the festive sphere as in the private sphere.
- What is it about? -
Chemical submission consists of the administration "for criminal purposes of psychoactive substances without the victim's knowledge or under threat, to commit a crime or an offence", according to the definition of the national health agency (ANSM).
In France, the most commonly used substances are antihistamines and sedatives, benzodiazepines and related drugs, used as anxiolytics or sleeping pills, or antidepressants and opioids.
"In all cases, the aggressor's objective is the same: that you are no longer able to put up any resistance," explains Leila Chaouachi, rapporteur of the annual survey on the subject by the ANSM.
"Either the attacker drugs you without your knowledge or under threat, or he lets you get drunk or take drugs yourself and he acts when he sees that you are no longer able to defend yourself," she adds.
– What magnitude? –
At present, the number of cases remains difficult to quantify.
Based mainly on complaints, the ANSM has been recording each year since 2003 the molecules used by attackers and their method of operation.
According to the latest survey, covering 2021, 727 “suspect reports”, 82 “likely chemical submissions” and 354 “possible chemical submissions” were recorded that year.
Sexual assaults are still the most frequently reported cases (75.51%, 30%), followed by physical violence (6.31%, 30%) and theft (5.11%, 30%).
But these recorded cases probably only represent part of the reality - filing a complaint, always difficult in cases of sexual assault, is even more so when the victim suffers from amnesia.
– What actions? –
The term chemical submission does not exist as such in criminal law, but since 2018, administering a substance to a person, without their knowledge, in order to commit rape or sexual assault against them is punishable by five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.
Two legal cases have recently highlighted this drift into the private sphere.
The first - a man accused of having drugged his wife for almost ten years and having handed her over to strangers who sexually assaulted or raped her - is at the heart of the trial which will be held from Monday in Avignon.
In November 2023, the issue crossed the threshold of Parliament. MP Sandrine Josso filed a complaint against Senator Joel Guerriau, whom she accused of drugging her with a view to sexually assaulting her.
She was subsequently tasked by the government with a mission to combat chemical subjugation, a mission suspended indefinitely by the dissolution of the Assembly and the resignation of the Attal government.
There are still many things to do, insisted Caroline Darian, the daughter of the victim in the Avignon trial and founder of the association "M'endors pas", to AFP in January.
There is a need to provide more training to health professionals on the issue and to raise awareness among the general public about the importance of toxicological analysis and filing complaints, she stressed.
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