French sports stars urge end to ‘silence’ on sexual assault

PARIS: Leading French sports personalities on Wednesday published an open letter urging an end to the “silence” over the taboo of sexual assault in sports after the country was rocked by revelations from a top ice skater.

“We cannot stay silent any longer,” said the letter in the Le Parisien daily signed by dozens of French sports personalities including the judo star Teddy Riner, ice dancer Nathalie Pechalat and tennis player Tatiana Golovin.

“It is time to act collectively and understand that breaking the silence is to do service to sport,” added the letter.

The letter was published following claims from former world championship bronze medallist Sarah Abitbol that she was raped by coach Gilles Beyer from 1990 to 1992, starting when she was just 15 years old.

Further allegations by three other skaters against Beyer and two other coaches followed and prosecutors have opened an investigation.

The letter demanded the creation of a special unit independent of sports federations to hear complaints from victims as well as systematic checks of coaches’ records.

“The first crack has been made in the wall of silence. We are... disgusted but not so astonished... The isolated case multiplies and the monsters are omnipresent. “How many victims are silenced by shame and fear? How many could be avoided?” they asked.

France was seen by many activists to have been slow to react to the wave of #Metoo exposure of sexual harassment that began in the film industry in the United States.

However the cinema industry in France is now reeling from accusations by star actress Adele Haenel that director Christophe Ruggia assaulted her while she was a minor.

Veteran essayist Gabriel Matzneff is also being investigated by French police after a leading French publishing executive alleged he abused her in a relationship when she was 14.