The Mazan rape trial sheds new light on the concept of chemical submission in sexual offences cases. Dominique Pelicot is accused of having given his partner anxiolytics, prescribed by his family doctor, in order to rape her and have other men rape her, 51 of whom are accused in this trial.
If the use of drugs to perpetrate a crime or a crime against others is ancient, the French notion of chemical submission, especially in the context of sexual violence, appeared more recently. It falls into the category of Drug-facilitated crimes (DFC), crimes facilitated by the use of psychoactive substances, defined in forensic medicine at an international level.
A government mission was launched in France in April to better understand and stop the phenomenon, following the revelation of the rapes in Mazan but also the affair of former MP Sandrine Josso (MoDem), who accused Senator Joël Guerriau (Horizons) of having drugged her with ecstasy. The elected official was charged in November 2023 with “administering a substance to commit rape or sexual assault”.. However, the mission is at a standstill pending the appointment of a new government.
Chemical “submission” or “vulnerability”: what is it?
The term “chemical submission” is primarily used in the scientific field and refers to the act of drugging a person without their knowledge or under threat for illicit or criminal purposes. “This is a mode of operation used by people who commit violence of a sexual nature, but not only. We also find cases of children or elderly people who are chemically assaulted, that is, drugged so that they do not have to take care of them or get money from them.explains Leila Chaouachi, a doctor of pharmacy and head of the national survey “Presentation of chemical products”, a census carried out every year by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) since 2003 to control the diversion of medicines.
The ANSM distinguishes between chemical submission and chemical vulnerability. The latter refers to taking advantage of the fragile state of a person who has freely consumed substances in order to attack them. “In both cases, the victim is never responsible for his aggression”the expert insists.
In law, chemical submission is one of the crimes defined as “the voluntary administration of a harmful substance that affects the physical or mental integrity of other people”punishable under article 222-15 of the penal code amended by the law of March 5, 2007. The law of August 3, 2018, which strengthens the fight against sexual and gender-based violence, also specifies that the use of drugs during a sexual assault attack constitutes an aggravating circumstance.
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