In the UK, the revelations about Jimmy Saville led to profound changes in of the public perception of child sexual abuse, and to the creation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The impact of these revelations was later magnified by the #MeToo movement.
In France, the #MeToo movement was more of a starting point. Since then, a number of sports stars have revealed past sexual abuse by their coaches (as depicted in the movie ‘Slalom’. Sarah Abitbol, a champion figure skater, accused her former coach of raping her over many years. The head of the French Ice Sports Federation was forced to resign after his internal investigation was found to be a cover-up. Similar stories are coming from the worlds of tennis and athletics. A number of TV and film stars have made similar revelations. Adèle Haenel (who starred in ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’) accused director Christophe Ruggia of sexually harassing her when she was only 12.
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