Judicial handling of sexual violence in Senegal and France

Judicial systems in Senegal and France are experiencing crises in managing sexual violence cases.

In Senegal, the Pikine-Guédiawaye court faces a critical backlog of approximately fifty rape cases, with some suspects detained for at least three years without trial. This congestion is linked to a severe shortage of judicial personnel; the country has only 436 magistrates against an estimated need of 1,324. Specifically, the Pikine-Guédiawaye jurisdiction has only nine judges in post despite a requirement for 23.

In France, a scandal has emerged regarding a “phantom stock” of thousands of sexual violence files against minors that were never transmitted to the justice system. An examination of 70,000 complaints revealed that many procedures held by police and gendarmerie services remained unknown to prosecutors. Discrepancies were noted in cities such as Nîmes, Caen, and Agen, while some files in Bourges were described as “purely and simply lost.” This situation has triggered debate between the Ministry of Justice and police unions regarding structural malfunctions in investigative services.