France's Parliamentary Commission Calls for Reform of Incest Prosecutions

A parliamentary inquiry commission in France released a report warning that incest is a mass crime affecting an estimated 160,000 children each year, with 81 % of perpetrators being family members. In 2025 more than 20,000 minors were recorded as victims of intra‑family sexual violence, yet only 380 convictions for incest‑related rape were secured in 2024.

The commission highlighted systemic failures at every stage of the criminal process, from police investigations to courtroom judgments. It noted that there are just 2,000 specialised investigators for the rising number of complaints, and that judicial experts are scarce and sometimes rely on discredited concepts such as parental alienation syndrome.

Among its 50 recommendations, the report urges that mothers who protect their children from alleged abusers should no longer be prosecuted for "non‑representation of a child," and that a child‑protection order should be issued immediately after disclosure. It also calls for mandatory investigative actions to begin within three months of a complaint. The French government has signalled it will incorporate many of these measures into the forthcoming comprehensive child‑protection law slated for parliamentary debate this autumn.