“This is proof that it has never been about hitting on someone… it has always been about domination.”
In Part I of this BBC documentary series on feminism and sexual harassment in France, French journalist Helene Daouphars tries to understand a little bit more about her home country’s views on women. Daouphars interviews people like Marie Laguerre (quoted above), who became the accidental poster girl for French feminism after a video of a man punching her in the face went viral on YouTube. She also talks to Sandra Muller, the woman behind the #balancetonporc hashtag, who was hit with a lawsuit from her harasser after the movement took off.
Many in France seem to be highly resistant to the #metoo movement, with high-profile French women even calling it “puritanical” and problematic. But in cities like Paris, where a reported 100% of women have been harassed at some point on public transport, women are beginning to fight back. So watch out for Part II to see if Daouphars’s research can offer any solutions… or at least, any solace.
