Sexual assault on an adult
Verified 10 August 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Was physical contact of a sexual nature imposed on a person by another person? It could be a sexual assault. This offense is characterized when the sexual act is committed with the use of violence, threats, physical or psychological coercion or by surprise. Anyone who has been sexually assaulted can call for help, call a victim support organization and file a complaint. We present you with the information you need to know.
Warning
This page presents the situation of sexual assault on an adult.
If the sexual assault is committed on a victim under the age of 18, the applicable rules may be different.
Sexual assault is a sexual act, without penetration, imposed by one person on another person. This infringement is characterized when the author has used violence, threats, physical or psychological coercion or acted by surprise.
Example :
Sexual assault can be used in situations such as the following:
- Touching someone who has been severely beaten by their abuser (violent sexual assault)
- Touching a person who is being forcibly held in a closed space but not beaten (sexual assault with physical coercion)
- Touching of a worker by his hierarchical superior, particularly as a result of sexual harassment (sexual assault with moral restraint)
- Touching someone by an armed assailant (sexual assault with threat)
- Touching someone who is sleeping or under the influence of alcohol or drugs (sexual assault with surprise)
Sexual assault can be used regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim (e.g., it is a sexual assault to force a sexual act on a spouse using violence).
The perpetrator of such an offense is also punishable even if the acts took place abroad if the victim is a minor or usually resides in French territory.
FYI
If penetration has occurred, it is a rape.
Alert the police and gendarmerie by phone
In case of emergency, and only in this situation, it is possible to alert the police or gendarmerie by telephone. People with hearing or language impairments can contact these services via SMS.
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By telephone
In case of emergency, when a quick intervention is necessary, you can call Police-Emergency. Dial 17.
You can also contact the European Emergency Service by dialing the 112.
Who shall I contact
Emergency Police - 17 (by phone)
By telephone
Dial 17 in the event of an emergency involving a road accident, a breach of public order or a criminal offense. A team of police or gendarmes will be on hand.
You can also dial the 112. You will then be directed to the right service according to your case. The 112 can be used in all European Union countries.
If the situation is not an emergency, call your local police or gendarmerie.
European emergency number - 112
112
Emergency number to be used for a call from a European country or from a mobile phone
24/7
Free call
You can't call
114 is the emergency call relay service if you are unable to speak on the phone (deaf, hard of hearing ...) or if it could put you in danger.
Who shall I contact
Deaf and hard of hearing emergency number - 114
By SMS at 114
Free 24/7 access
Via the emergency mobile application 114 or the website www.urgence114.fr
Free 24/7 access
Contact possible via:
- Video telephony: I communicate in sign language
- Chat: I communicate in writing
- Voice / Return text: I speak and 114 responds to me in writing (or vice versa)
Alert the police and gendarmerie via instant messaging
An instant messenger (chat) allows you to chat with a police officer or a member of the gendarmerie. Chat history can be deleted from your computer, mobile phone or tablet at any time.
Alert Transit Security Officers
If you are victim or witness of an assault on public transport, you can contact an agent 24 hours a day, by phone at 3117 or send a text message to 31177.
You can also download the 3117 app.
Thus, the victim is located more quickly and the triggering of the intervention of the agents is facilitated.
Form of complaint
If you want the perpetrator of your sexual assault to be prosecuted, you can lodge a complaint.
On the spot
You can go to a police station or a gendarme brigade of your choice.
The police or gendarmerie refer the complaint to the public prosecutor.
If the police or gendarmerie refuse to take your domestic violence complaint, you can alert the competent control authorities.
Submit online to the Inspectorate General of the National Police
Contact the Inspectorate General of the National Gendarmerie online
By mail
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
Your mail should include the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.
You can use the following mail template:
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
The presence of a lawyer is not mandatory for the lodging of a complaint and throughout the procedure until the trial before the correctional court. However, you can get legal assistance if you wish.
Deadline for filing a complaint
You have 6 years from the date of the facts to lodge a complaint.
After that time, your sexual assault complaint will no longer be admissible. This is called the limitation period.
Several structures can provide you with support as a victim of a sexual offense.
The site Victims' Journey guides you through each step.
Who shall I contact
Violence Women Info - 3919
Listen, inform and refer women victims of violence, and witnesses to such violence.
Addresses physical, verbal, or psychological abuse, at home or at work, and abuse of any kind (including sexual harassment, assault, and rape).
Does not deal with emergencies (it is not a police or gendarmerie service).
For other types of violence, 3919 provides a first-level response and directs or transfers to a useful number.
By telephone
39,19 (free call from a landline or mobile phone in metropolitan and DOM)
Open 24/7
Anonymous call
Call not on phone bills
116 006 - Victim Assistance Number
Listen, inform and advise victims of crime and their families.
By telephone
116,006
Free call
Open 7 days a week from 9am to 7pm
The service can also be accessed by calling the +33 (0)1 80 52 33 76 (Normal pricing number).
By email
victimes@france-victimes.fr
Initiation of an investigation
If the public prosecutor was informed of the sexual assault, he could decide to open an investigation and prosecute the perpetrator.
The public prosecutor can make this decision even if you have not filed a complaint.
Collection of evidence
Different kinds of evidence
Apart from DNA traces and possible injuries, all other evidence you yourself have collected can be examined by the court.
It can be testimonials, sms captures, emails, recordings of conversations even without the author's knowledge, clothes.
Medical evidence
It is important to preserve all clues (fingerprints, DNA traces...) that could be used to identify the perpetrator and obtain his conviction in court.
Clothing worn at the time of the assault should be kept and washing should be avoided.
At the request of the police or gendarmes, you can be examined by a doctor. Doctors examine any injuries and look for DNA. They can also look for any trace of drugs that may have been delivered to you by the perpetrator of the sexual assault (GHB type or rapist's drug). The doctor must issue you a medical certificate that indicates whether you have any injuries or not.
Aids screening and, if necessary, pregnancy testing may be done.
Right to counsel
If you are a victim of sexual assault, you have the right to be assisted by a lawyer at all stages of the legal process.
Your lawyer can be present at all confrontations between you and the person suspected of committing the sexual assault, and at all your hearings by the police or by the judge.
Please note
you can get financial help to pay your legal fees, thanks to legal aid, if you meet the resource requirements.
You can get advice on the preparation of your case and on legal aid from the house of justice and the law.
Who shall I contact
If the investigating judge considers that there is sufficient evidence to consider a sexual assault, the case will be referred to the correctional court.
Public Hearing
In principle, trials before the correctional court are public, meaning that anyone can attend the hearings.
But even if the trial is public, it is forbidden to disseminate your image and information about your identity. without your written consent.
Failure to comply with this rule shall be punishable by a fine of €15,000.
In camera possible at the request of the victim
If you want the trial is not public, so it is possible to request that there be in the room only those directly involved in the case (victims, accused, witnesses...).
It's called in camera.
The court can accept your request and order it to go in camera, but it is not obliged to do so.
The perpetrator of a sexual assault is liable to principal penalties and additional penalties.
FYI
When the perpetrator has attempted to sexually assault a person, he or she is the same penalties only if the assault had actually taken place. This is called attempt of sexual assault.
Principal penalties
Sexual assault can be committed with or without aggravating circumstances. In the two cases, the perpetrator is subject to criminal sanctions.
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Aggression without aggravating circumstance
The perpetrator of a sexual assault faces a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment and €75,000 fine.
Aggression with aggravating circumstance
In the event of aggravating circumstances, the penalty may be increased to 7 years of imprisonment and €100,000 fine.
This is the case, for example, in the following situations:
- Assault resulting in injury or injury or total incapacity for work for more than 8 days
- Assault committed by a person who abuses the authority conferred on him by his duties (police officer, judge, etc.)
- Assault by several persons acting as perpetrator or accomplice
- Assault with the use or threat of use of a weapon
- Assault on a person engaged in prostitution, including occasionally, in the exercise of that activity
- Assault in the presence of minor children
- Assault by a ascendant or a person having authority over the victim (employer, teacher, etc.)
- Assault by a person who has been put in contact with the victim via the internet
- Assault by the victim's spouse, partner, or Civil partnership partner
- Assault by a person who was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics
- Assault by a person who drugged the victim
- Assault on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity (real or perceived) of the victim
- Assault on a particularly vulnerable person whose situation is apparent or known to the perpetrator (age, illness, disability, physical or mental impairment, pregnancy status and social or economic precariousness)
Additional penalties
The judge may decide to sentence the perpetrator to one or more of the following additional penalties:
- Injunction of care in the context of socio-judicial follow-up
- Prohibition of stay in certain places (e.g. the home of the victim) for up to 10 years
- Prohibition of working with minors either permanently or for a maximum of 10 years
Registration in the sex offenders index
The name of the perpetrator of a sexual assault is listed in the sex offenders index.
There are three ways to claim compensation for a sexual assault:
- Constitution of a civil party and claim for compensation at the time of the criminal trial
- Claim for compensation before the civil judge, once the criminal judge has rendered his judgment
- Request for compensation from the Victims Guarantee Fund.
Definition of sexual assault
Sentences for sexual assault.
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Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice