In 2016, a young Chilean woman named Polin travelled to France to complete a harvest internship (vendanges) in a prestigious wine château in the Médoc region. Like many international seasonal workers, she came seeking professional experience in one of the most renowned wine territories in the world. Instead, during the internship, she was raped by a man associated with the château.
Immediately after the assault, Polin took the steps that victims are advised to take: she filed a police complaint, underwent a forensic medical examination, and cooperated with the authorities. The accused was placed in police custody, and an official criminal investigation was opened. At that moment, everything suggested that the case would follow the standard judicial process.
However, Polin had to return to Chile, as her internship had ended and she did not have the possibility to remain in France. She trusted that the French justice system would carry the case forward in her absence.
Years later, she discovered that the case had been quietly closed. According to the prosecutor’s office, the decision to dismiss the case was justified by her supposed “lack of response” to emails sent during the investigation. Polin maintains she never received any of these communications, raising serious concerns about procedural fairness and the accessibility of justice for foreign victims.
In 2023, determined to understand what had happened and seeking to reactivate the case, Polin reached out to Paye Ton Pinard. With their help, she managed to obtain her full case file, which confirmed both the procedural inconsistencies and the premature closure of the investigation.
With the support of the collective and legal assistance, steps were initiated to request the reopening of the investigation. The collective publicly relayed her testimony, amplifying the issue and highlighting the systemic barriers faced by international seasonal workers, especially women, in the wine industry, who often depend on short-term contracts, visas, and precarious conditions that leave them vulnerable and poorly protected.
As of today, efforts are ongoing to have the case reopened, and Polin continues her fight for recognition and justice, despite the geographical distance and the years that have passed since the assault.
This case reveals structural weaknesses in the handling of sexual-violence cases involving migrant, seasonal, or foreign interns in the agricultural and wine sectors. It raises critical questions about:
- the accessibility of judicial communication for non-resident victims,
- the responsibility of institutions to ensure follow-up across borders,
- and the potential for victims’ cases to be abandoned due to administrative or communication failures.
It also demonstrates the role of grassroots organisations like Paye Ton Pinard in identifying systemic blind spots and supporting victims whose cases risk being forgotten in bureaucratic limbo.