Ever since Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested for sexual assault against a hotel employee in May, the entire landscape of French culture has been impacted. According to a story in the London Independent, reports of sexual harassment by French women have increased by 600% since the incident. What was formerly a country that endured rampant casual sexual harassment is now one where the women are saying, “No more!” The watershed effect of seeing such a high-profile and renowned sexual predator brought to justice over his treatment of a common maid has inspired French women to speak out and pursue legal complaints against French men, especially coworkers, in droves. Many of the offenses are dated and beyond prosecution, but it shows that women there are feeling liberated to finally talk openly about these things. Interestingly, it wasn’t so much Strauss-Kahn’s behavior but “the dismissive and macho reactions of some of our male politicians,” said one former official. Now it’s neither all that surprising that French men are rude in general or sexually aggressive in particular, but it is wonderful to see French women no longer feeling the need to simply endure their abuse.
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