INCESTE – Parler ne suffit pas
30.12.2023
Swiss Press Award 24 Audio – E – Raphaële Bouchet
The Silence over Incest
Radio Télévision Suisse/ La Première
2024
Raphaele Bouchet
3rd place 2024
Jessica, a mother of two daughters, discovered that her own stepfather had been abusing them for several years. She reported him to the police and tells of her battle to secure a verdict in court. In a five-part series of reports for the RTS television program Vacarme, the journalist Raphaële Bouchet explains that she wanted to question the words “silence” and “taboo” which are associated with the topic of incest; The same goes for the state of paralysis that affects victims and their relatives, because their reports rarely result in a trial. In the EVIG hearing room of the Geneva police (EVIG stands for “Enfants Victimes d’Infractions Graves”, child victims of serious crime), an inspector explains how the investigators “explore the stories” in order to reconstruct the facts, without putting words in the children’s mouths. Through lawyers and experts, the journalist gained access to victims, who were ultimately willing to reveal what they had suffered, and the relief they felt speaking out about it.