Overview

• The Cour de cassation overturned a February ruling that dismissed racist and sexist aggravating circumstances in rapes during French Bukkake shoots from 2015 to 2020.
• Sixteen men face charges including gang rape, human trafficking, and proxénétisme for profiting from exploitative pornographic productions.
• The decision mandates a jury trial in a cour d’assises, marking the first major assize-level prosecution of sexual violence within the amateur porn industry in France.
• Victims’ appeals successfully secured the recognition of intersectional abuses, though claims of torture and barbarity were not upheld.
• The ruling has been described as a significant step toward addressing systemic exploitation and violence in the pornography industry under French law.