Sexual violence and homicides rise in France following the Lyhanna case
Official statistics reveal a surge in the most serious assaults in France, with a 77 per cent increase in recorded sexual violence offences in June.
Sharp rise in serious violence in France, driven by the Lyhanna case
According to Le Figaro, official statistics show an alarming increase in offences against persons in France, notably sexual violence and homicides, whilst car-related thefts and reported acts of vandalism are declining.
The murder of Lyhanna, 11 years old, who went missing on 29 May in Fleurance (Gers), was raped and found dead on 4 June in a grain silo, has brought to light a reality that official figures had previously obscured: gendarmerie and police were leaving many cases outside official counting.
It was the intervention of the Justice Minister, Gérald Darmanin, that caused the figures to shift. By requiring that all files previously held in a "grey zone" be registered, Darmanin provoked a 77 per cent increase in recorded sexual violence offences in June.
In its latest business note, the Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI), which reports to the director general of the national police, shows a curve of sexual violence in clear progression. This indicator is part of a broader picture of crimes and offences recorded daily by security services.
Following the Lyhanna case, 675 people have moreover been imprisoned after the review of 70,000 complaints related to child sexual abuse offences, Le Figaro reports.
Source: Le Figaro