Young women sexually assaulted during their studies speak out

LCP-AN – WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 8:30 PM – DOCUMENTARY

This is the confirmation of a great “waste”: that of hindered study paths, aborted careers, damaged health at ages in which life is just beginning to take shape. There are so many consequences of violence and discrimination that students and young researchers face en masse at the university, the extent of which is recounted in Charlotte Espel’s documentary.

Some decades after the equal entry of women into universities, the fate reserved for those who study there or plan a university career remains undignified: in France, one in ten students has been the victim of sexual assault during their studies, one Every Twenty students are raped, the documentary recalls. It does not stop there and focuses above all on showing the lasting impact that this violence can have on their professional but also personal trajectories: the prescription of medications to treat the symptoms that occurred after the attack is often repeated.

While internal investigations in business or engineering schools have revealed the extent of the violence that occurs there, little interest is still paid to what happens in the labyrinths of universities and public research centers. However, the echo of the various testimonies produced by this film clearly reveals the systemic aspect of sexist and sexual violence that interferes in all parts of the university environment, from student evenings to scientific laboratories.

In a very hierarchical universe, with disciplines that turn out to be “small worlds” where everyone meets and knows each other, this violence is allowed in particular due to an imbalance in power relations. Those of teachers, who, for example, enjoy their aura in the artistic sectors, inviting young women to always do more “undress”. Those also of the thesis directors, against whom it is difficult to speak out, as they have done “right of life or death” about the future of a doctorate and the professional opportunities that follow, as told by a doctoral student.

As for speaking, the documentary specifically shows how difficult it is, from phenomena of awe or control to the absence of a feeling of legitimacy in the face of tutelary figures and deeply rooted cultures. But also in a context of absence of serious mobilization by the university leadership to stop this violence. The figures cited speak for themselves: 45% of students do not have access to any system to combat violence or any support within their establishment.