France's Ciivise to assess government action on child sexual abuse after Lyhanna death

The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children (Ciivise) will present a long‑awaited evaluation of the French government's implementation of its 82 recommendations. The report, due Monday at Place Vendôme, follows the high‑profile case of 11‑year‑old Lyhanna, whose death in the Gers department sparked nationwide outrage over the handling of sexual‑abuse complaints.

Ciivise, led by magistrate Maryse Le Men‑Regnier and secretary‑general Denis Roth‑Fichet, will judge the government's progress on measures such as tougher sentences for serial child rapists, a maximum three‑month deadline for child‑crime investigations, and a decree requiring magistrates to justify dismissing sexual‑abuse complaints. President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged "manifest dysfunctions" in the justice system. The commission, created after the 2021 "La Familia Grande" revelations, operates with reduced resources and a renewed team, but continues to monitor implementation across health, justice, police and education ministries.

The commission’s statistics claim that 160,000 children are victims of sexual violence each year in France, with one child assaulted every three minutes. The forthcoming child‑protection bill, already presented in May, is expected to be amended before its parliamentary review in July.