The Parliament is preparing to adopt definitively Tuesday, July 21, by a final vote of the Senate, a bill intended to better " protect victims of domestic violence ", in particular by introducing an exception to medical confidentiality in the event of " immediate danger " . This text constitutes the second legislative component in a few months of an arsenal which is intended to be offensive and has been the subject of an agreement without major difficulties between deputies and senators in joint committee, even if elected officials like associations would like to go more far.
Read also: The strong impact of professions on domestic violence
It follows the Grenelle on domestic violence led in the fall of 2019 by Marlène Schiappa, then Secretary of State for Gender Equality and the Fight against Discrimination.
Approved last week by the National Assembly, it authorizes the doctor or any other health professional to derogate from professional secrecy when he " considers in conscience " that the violence puts the life of the victim " in immediate danger " and that there is a situation of control. The wording was clarified by the senators on this disputed provision which touches on a pillar of the relationship between the doctor and his patient.
“ In 2019, 149 women lost their lives and as many broken families forever. We cannot remain inert in the face of these human tragedies , ”stressed the new Minister for Gender Equality, Elisabeth Moreno, to the deputies, taking figures from associations.
Since the beginning of 2020, at least 39 women have been killed by their spouse or ex, according to a count made by AFP, including two murders last week. This number seems to be down compared to the previous year, but associations see it above all as a consequence of confinement, many feminicides being committed when the woman wants to leave. AFP had recorded some 70 deaths between January and July in 2019 and at least 126 cases throughout the year.
Harassment and cyberviolence
The text also increases the penalties for harassment within the couple, bringing them to 10 years' imprisonment when the harassment has led the victim to commit suicide or to attempt to commit suicide. It represses the geolocation of a person without their consent and creates an aggravating circumstance in the event of a violation of the secrecy of correspondence by a spouse or ex-spouse, in order to better fight against “ conjugal cyberviolence ”.
In order to protect children, the proposed law opens up the possibility of suspending parental authority within the framework of judicial control. It also strengthens the protection of minors regarding exposure to pornography.
A first series of measures against violence within the family had already been adopted at the end of 2019, in the bill by MP LR Aurélien Pradié, including the generalization of the anti-reconciliation bracelet against spouses and ex-violent.
Dupond-Moretti "terribly silent"
The final adoption of the 2nd legislative component takes place in a controversial context after the double appointment of Gérald Darmanin, targeted by a complaint for rape, at the Interior and Eric Dupond-Moretti, very critical of the #MeToo movement, to Justice. In the bronca of feminists, Senator PS Laurence Rossignol, former Minister of Women's Rights, denounced " a great slap in the face of all women and all victims of sexual and gender-based violence ".
In addition to his past positions, Aurélien Pradié has criticized the new Minister of Justice for being " terribly silent " on domestic violence since taking office, in a letter to the minister. Eric Dupond-Moretti reaffirmed Monday during his hearing by the Laws Committee in the Assembly to be the victim of a " bad trial ", reaffirming to be " viscerally favorable to gender equality ".
In an interview with the JDD , he listed the fight against domestic violence among his priorities, wishing that " men suspected of domestic violence, if they are not referred, be summoned by the prosecutor and receive a formal judicial warning ".