“The code of honor is between men”: being a feminist in Corsica

When she first enters the room, Océane is dressed in the latest trendy Converse, a Lacoste jacket and beige trousers. Her eyes enhanced by a perfectly drawn line of black eyeliner, she embodies the classic image of a rushing high school girl. On her chairs, in a circle, about fifteen women who more or less know each other gathered for the first edition of a “feminist speech” organized one December evening around Bastia. In turn, the women present tell of an event, yet another sexist remark, a tiring daily struggle, an experience of confraternity, etc. When her turn comes, Océane speaks softly and explains her activist fatigue. She is not just any person.

The two years of #IwasCorsica

In June 2020, Corsica is about to be hit by the #MeToo movement. It all started with a private conversation on Twitter to share the names of known attackers, then the first #Iwas (ed. ” I was “): “It was quite shocking because we knew it was coming but we didn’t know so many girls would be talking”, Océane confides, her throat tight. Quickly, the hashtag is gaining momentum, beyond social networks. For Ocean: “It’s Just Another Story”. Remember Lina, one of the instigators of the movement, who insists: “We have to do something, we have to get out on the street”.

In just one week the event is set up and the appointment is fixed: it will start from the Palace of Justice in Bastia on Sunday 21 June. A day full of emotions that Océane will never forget: “I said to myself, no one will come, it will only be the five of us, I was scared, then I was ashamed. And when I saw the first people arrive, friends who had come from afar, the elderly, the young… I felt like crying, I was so happy. In the end some mothers also came to thank us”. Her voice rolls out this day like it was yesterday. Slogans rang out in the colorful-walled streets of Bastia: “Rapists, we see you; victims, we believe you”, sung by hundreds of people. And then, history repeated itself in Ajaccio two weeks later.

Growing up as a woman in Corsica

While “Balance Your Pork” hasn’t actually taken root in the generation under 25, the group of young women is widely supported in Corsican society, especially by women. Symbolically, they decide a few days later to file fourteen complaints in Bastia – without action even today according to those concerned. The police, Océane knows. The complaints presented or the victims accompanied to the gates of the police station are no longer counted. Always a feminist, in college, she shows her body on the social networks she grew up with. Then, very soon, he experiences cyberbullying which, he doesn’t know yet, won’t stop. “The rumors have assimilated my image on social networks”says Océane fatalistically.

When she was attacked in 2018, everyone was talking about it: “The attackers boasted and the people of Bastia allowed themselves to express their opinion because it was ‘public'”. Almost without batting an eye when recounting difficult episodes in his life, Océane draws a supernatural strength from within: “I’ve never asked myself “ah it’s true what they say about me, I’m a whore”, ever. And even though I was scared, very soon I realized that what was happening to me was serious and that I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”. When she was 13, photos sent to a 19-year-old man were leaked: “I should be protected, challenged by this older guy and not come all over me. Seeing photos of a 13-year-old girl, when you say to yourself “why is she doing this? And not “Poor thing! »? ».

“We can die without anyone lifting a finger”

With 340,000 registered inhabitants, Corsica is considered a village where everyone knows each other, which has its advantages – and its disadvantages. “I was known in Ajaccio when, as a child, I had never been there. Here, the “It doesn’t happen, we women, we protect them”, is falseconfidently strikes the young lady, As soon as a man learns of an attack, you are found guilty, question what you say. The code of honor is between men. We can die without anyone lifting a finger. » A Corsican society in the image of a France where the culture of rape reigns.

It’s hard to be spinsters in zerga (angry girls)

Today the young woman tries to fight against the code of silence on sexist and sexual violence on her island, but at 19 she admits she is tired: “All my experiences, those of the girls who told me, the girls of the networks… ​​You no longer want. I’m very clear about filing a complaint today, it’s pointlessit just takes time, it’s just exhausting”.

Since the beginning of her quarrel, the various complaints without follow-up and the impossibility of walking down the street like a stranger without being stared at, the young woman has suspended her studies for a long time. Like many teenage girls who leave to study on the continent in search of an escape, she joined a Parisian university in September 2022, “where I could blend into the crowd”. The law of silence, Océane tried to break it, spoke and, every day, pays the price.

Front page visual photo credit: Portrait of Océane, by Aurore Duval-Thibault