PUBLICATIONS DE LA MIVILUDESEnglish : Report Miviludes 2004
In our 2003 report, Miviludes undertook to define the concept of a "sectarian aberration". This year the Mission has decided to use the notion of "risk", which is just as problematic, but essential, to present the most recent developments of the phenomenon which it is charged with analyzing and combating. By giving priority to the aspect of prevention, Miviludes respects its obligations :
The first part of the report, entitled "Activities", presents an assessment of the past year. First, it examines the legal reforms implemented. In this regard 2004 was an important year. The law on bioethics, and that dealing with psychotherapy, represent advances in the area we are concerned with : they should put a stop to propaganda in favor of reproductive cloning and provide a better legal framework for a profession that is exposed to certain aberrations. The activity of national bodies, and of Miviludes, is presented through the work of the Pilot Executive Committee and the Orientation Council, which met at the appointed times. This first part also reports the activities, at the local level, of our regional correspondents and the prefectoral cells of vigilance. It also summarizes the written questions (about fifty) of parliamentary deputies, to which the ministers addressed gave detailed answers. Next, this report presents in detail the reports of the different government administrations represented on the Executive committee. Their contributions highlight the variety of their approaches, but also their complementarity, which makes this government structure an important aspect of the global public strategy. Next, for the first time, we report the activity of the main associations for aid to victims. The second part of this report, Analyses, begins with a study of the "sectarian risk", its specific characteristics and its various dimensions. This synthesis of the theories and studies developed for the notion of the psychological hold a sect can have on its followers, and the harm it can do them, is due to different specialists, including members of the Miviludes Orientation Council, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers and philosophers. It especially emphasizes how difficult it can be to realize the extent of the harm suffered by victims of such subjection. Further directions are suggested for improving aid to victims, and more clearly identifying the person or persons responsible for the infraction, which is a necessary condition for equitable repair of the damage caused. The next chapter summarizes the major legal decisions in both penal and civil cases. Our jurisprudence was enriched by a number of important decisions. Adopting a direct operational approach, this second part next lists the main sectors under invasion at present, like markets to be exploited, by the organizations and groups susceptible to sectarian aberrations : professional training, health care, and education. In a sensitive area, where the number of children in danger has not diminished, Miviludes has made the protection of minors one of its central aims. In the chapter dedicated to this high-priority subject, we recall the consequences of the sectarian risk for children, especially for those who are brought up in closed communities and cut off from contact with the external world that might help their future development. The Mission has also tried to draw attention to the fragile population of adolescents who are engaged in building their personal identity, by indicating how certain sectarian organizations make use of seductive discourse, often via the anonymous or disguised contacts the Internet makes possible. The case of Satanism is developed as an example. The last chapter deals with the Mission’s international contacts and cites them to briefly sketch the strategies adopted by some of our partners. Sometimes a difference of perception can be seen. This motivates a defense and illustration of the French conception of secularity. >> DOCUMENTS JOINTS |
to inform the public about the risks, and in some cases the dangers, to which it is exposed by sectarian aberrations ;