• Five years after the introduction of the courses to combat sexism and raise awareness of equality between women and men, the government still does not have the tools to measure their effectiveness.
  • "I have a lot of questions about these internships," says Jean-Michel Taliercio, president of the association Dans le Genre Égales. Even today, I find it difficult to understand their interest. »

"I thought I was dealing with gender-based outragers, but I came face to face with pimps, domestic violence and cyberbullies." Jean-Michel Taliercio is puzzled. For the past two years, the president of the association Dans le Genre Égales has been organizing courses to combat sexism and raise awareness of equality between women and men, at the request of the Seine-Saint-Denis prison integration and probation service (SPIP). "I have a lot of questions about these internships," he continues. Even today, I find it difficult to understand their interest. »

On the first floor of the Cité audacieuse, a meeting place for the main feminist associations in Paris, her team prepares the content of the courses. "It's difficult to offer relevant workshops when the people who follow the courses are different perpetrators," he said. Especially since they can be used as much as a complement to punishment, as an alternative to prosecution.

The introduction of these courses, by the former Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men Marlène Schiappa, accompanied the creation of the offence of sexist contempt. Designed to reduce street harassment, the offence is part of the "great cause of the previous five-year term", the fight against violence against women. But five years after their implementation, the government still has no tools to measure the effectiveness of these courses.

"Some think they no longer have gender bias"

"These workshops help to put the gesture into perspective, and to tell yourself that it doesn't matter if, in the end, it wasn't the right one," says Georges*, referring to his ex-wife, who initiated divorce proceedings after her conviction for domestic violence. "Short courses can be counterproductive, especially if they are compulsory," warns Christian Brouder, director of research at the CNRS. When they are sufficiently repeated and varied, they end up having a positive effect. Otherwise, they can reinforce a sense of impunity. "Because they have been trained, some people think they no longer have gender biases," he continues. But when you test them, you realize that nothing has changed. »

"I have an anecdote revealing the effectiveness of these internships," says Anne Bouillon, a lawyer specializing in women's law and domestic violence. I attended a hearing where a defendant appeared for recidivism of domestic violence. At one point, the president [of the hearing] asks him what he learned during this internship. "Lots of stuff!" the defendant replies. "Like what?" asks the president. "I don't know anymore..." Without a proactive approach during the workshops, "everything that is taught slides like water on the feathers of a duck," says the lawyer.

"Thecontent of the courses is free"

However, these internships are increasingly used. In 2021, out of 164 convictions for sexist contempt, 138 were accompanied by an obligation to complete one of these courses. That's more than double the previous year. In the same year, nineteen people followed him as an alternative to prosecution. This awareness-raising tool is intended for anyone who has tried "to impose on a person any comment or behaviour with a sexual or sexist nature that either violates his dignity [...], or creates an intimidating situation against him". A "catch-all" characterization, according to Jean-Michel Taliercio, which would reduce the effectiveness of internships.

"For judges to properly assign detainees, they should be able to know the exact content of the courses," says Mégane Le Provôt, a trainer at Dans le Genre Égales. But "their content is free," says Lucile Vankemmel, former investigator of the judicial control and investigations service of Lille. Some associations organize them over three days, others in about ten hours. And all these internships have the same legal value. "The associations must respect a specification," nuances a director of a prison service of integration and probation (SPIP), assuring "that there is of course a control of the effectiveness. "

Asked about this on several occasions, the Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men, Isabelle Rome, did not respond to 20 Minutes. An evaluation report, written in 2018 at the request of his predecessor, nevertheless states that "internship sentences in terms of [the fight against gender-based and sexual violence] are an excellent tool in the fight against recidivism. All the actors who were heard agreed on the interest of proposing this type of sentence in addition. »

"A criminal one-upmanship that solves nothing"

"But what is the balance sheet [of the existing system]?" asks Elisa Martin, LFI MP and signatory of an amendment opposing the hardening of the repression of sexist outrage. It would appear that there is no investigation into the effectiveness of internships or recidivism. "Or, the results are not communicated to us, and it is not for lack of having asked for them," insists Jean-Michel Taliercio. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI) also confirm "do not have data" on the subject.

For the elected rebel, the creation of these courses against sexism is "a criminal one-upmanship that solves nothing". An element also highlighted by the Council of State considering that "the content of the citizenship course, to which may already be required persons guilty of insults because of sex, [...] can be quite suitable" for perpetrators of sexist insults.


"These new offences, a bit of a gimmick on the edges, compete with existing offences," regrets Elisa Martin. Street harassment can already be punished by the offense of public insult, which provides for one year imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. This is a much higher penalty than that punishing the offence of sexist contempt. And this, even after the tripling of the fine provided for by theLOPMI law. The adoption of this law last December, however, was intended to send a strong signal against street harassment.

*First name has been changed

  • Marlène Schiappa
  • Sexism
  • Justice
  • Society
  • Violence against women
  • Gender equality