She said it: confinement is a breeding ground for domestic violence. Against this, the Secretary of State in charge of Equality between women and men, Marlène Schiappa, exclusively presents to us the new measures, some of which are launched on Monday, to best protect victims confined with violent husbands , like reception points in shopping centers…
Are the shelters for women victims of violence overcrowded?
MARLÈNE SCHIAPPA. We make sure that they always welcome new people, in compliance with the barrier measures. Besides, we are opening 1000 additional places. For this, with the Keeper of the Seals, we have kept the courts open to ensure that everything concerning domestic violence continues to be dealt with, and as a matter of urgency! With an instruction: prioritize the eviction of the violent spouse. Police custody and convictions have already been pronounced since the start of confinement.
Does the emergency number 3919 answer?
My first objective was to maintain it even if the listeners are for many mothers confined to their homes with their children. The technical service provider was not able to transfer the material to the listeners, so we managed ourselves, with my office, the technical transfer of the platform by going to deliver the material one by one to the home of each of the 30 listeners. .
Hence the bugs reported by women?
Yes. During this transfer, there was a day of bugs. Now the service is working. It is open Monday to Saturday, from 9 am to 7 pm continuously, but making calls is not always easy when you are confined to a small apartment with an aggressive man who watches over you. This is why I also want to publicize the arretonslesviolences.gouv.fr platform open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, where women can chat by chat with a trained police officer or gendarme, and prepare a complaint. A neighbor or a witness can report violence there. There will be no trace on the history of the computer and you can log out at any time. We are launching a campaign via social networks, carried by personalities like Aurélie Saada from the Brigitte group or Sananas, influential youtuber, to make it better known.
How is it going in other confined countries?
I work with my Italian counterpart, Minister Elena Bonetti. Italy has been confined for longer than France, so the authorities have had some interesting experience. We have contacted the European Commission together to ask it to make a financial commitment to support the structures that support women victims of domestic violence.
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
Like China, has Italy noticed an increase in this violence?
They do not have actual figures at this stage. It is difficult to measure the prevalence of domestic violence, even more so when contact is limited. In Italy, as in France, there are currently six to seven times fewer calls to 3919. During the Grenelle of domestic violence (Editor's note: from September 3 to November 25, 2019), for example, we counted 1600 calls per day. Today, we are barely more than 200 daily calls. But beware, this does not mean that there is less violence but just that the telephone is not the best solution, hence the need to multiply the means of calling for help.
The Minister of the Interior announced a 36% increase in reports in the police zone and 32% in the gendarmerie zone…
To measure it with reliable figures, I commission a mission to monitor the prevalence of domestic violence, from Elisabeth Moiron-Braud, former magistrate, secretary general of the Miprof (Editor's note: interministerial mission for the protection of women). On the basis of several cross-indicators, this mission will calculate the increase in domestic violence. In what geographic areas, when ... This is the first point of this phase 2 of the plan against domestic violence, launched on Monday.
What is the point of measuring this?
The aim is to provide for post-confinement, i.e. legal, psychosocial and medical support, which will have to be implemented for women in the medium term, but the objective is also to better prepare State services in the event of a new pandemic. I want to respond to the emergency but also prepare for the future. If in three years, ten years, France will face a new pandemic, we will have data to automatically and precisely activate the necessary devices.
You said it: confinement is a breeding ground for violence ...
Alas yes, with all those who work against gender-based and sexual violence, we have launched the alert. I would have preferred us to be wrong, but also underline the positive message in the increase in the interventions of the police: the Ministry of the Interior is fully mobilized. It also implements, with the Order of Pharmacists, a complementary solution for reporting from pharmacies. This will be effective in a few days, the time for my service to equip pharmacists with educational tools, and this will multiply the points of entering towards the police. But this is not the only novelty…
That is to say ?
My obsession is to multiply the points of contact with women so as not to let anything pass. As it is more difficult to get around, we make the support systems go to women. I create new ephemeral support points in partnership with local associations, state services and Unibail-Rodamco, manager of shopping centers. They provide premises free of charge, allowing confidentiality but large enough to accommodate women while respecting the barrier measures.
Where will they be present?
Firstly, in So Ouest in Levallois-Perret, in 4 Temps in La Défense (Hauts-de-Seine), in Carré Sénart in Lieusaint (Seine-et-Marne), in the Forum des Halles in Paris, in V2 in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (North), in Ulis (Essonne) ... Secondly, Dijon, Rennes, Lyon ... where there is an open hypermarket. We are currently working on creating the widest possible mesh, we are aiming for around twenty points in the coming weeks. By going shopping, these women will find an attentive ear and access to their rights in an innovative and effective way.
What about financial measures?
I am creating a special state-funded fund of one million euros to help associations in the field adapt to the period. Buy teleworking equipment, support taxi trips… but also prepare for the recovery. We will also finance up to 20,000 hotel nights so that women can flee from the violent man, but also to immediately remove violent spouses from the home.
The reason for filing a complaint is not on the certificate. Yet they also have the right to flee ...
Of course ! There is a danger outside because of the coronavirus pandemic, but when there is danger of death in your home because you are locked up with a person who hits, assaults, humiliates you, sometimes rapes you or plan to kill you, this cohabitation must end as soon as possible. It is for this reason that we have left the courts for domestic violence open.
Airbnb has created the “Appart solidaire” platform to provide free accommodation for caregivers. Could not women who are victims of violence enter this system?
A woman victim of violence needs to be accompanied, in a place whose address is kept secret and where the owner guarantees privacy and security. It is therefore a sensitive subject, but we are studying all the possibilities with the Minister of Housing, in addition to the 20,000 overnight stays financed. The virus forces us to constantly adapt to overcome constraints and protect women as well as possible.
Have you seen an increase in feminicides?
Since the beginning of 2020, it is estimated that a femicide occurs approximately every 4 days. In 2019, it was every 3 days. These are averages. We would therefore observe the beginning of a slowdown, but be careful, there would have been two since confinement. Confinement is a collective test that strikes the family and personal history of each person, the situation can escalate at any time when you live with a violent person. I therefore remain vigilant with State services and associations which are doing remarkable work everywhere in France despite the pandemic. I don't want women to tell themselves that they have to go through confinement. No! State mechanisms are not put on hold, they are even strengthened.