The National Federation of Solidarity Women (FNSF), which manages the telephone line 3919 for women victims of violence, rebelled Tuesday, November 17 against the will of the government to submit it to a competitive procedure to designate the structure that should continue to organize this service.
Read also: Domestic violence: doctors, poor lookouts
The FNSF - and other associations which support it, such as the Human Rights League, Family Planning or the National Union of Feminicide Families - "
asks the government to renounce
" this public procurement procedure, which according to them risk of "
weakening
" the service rendered to women in danger, they explained in a press release.
"
The fight against violence and the protection of women is a cause of general interest and not a market activity to which market laws can be applied
", affirm the signatories.
The FNSF emphasizes taking "
listening time for each woman
" and fears that, conversely, the future public market will be based on "
quantitative
"
criteria
, for example by giving priority to the number of calls taken care of. , or at the average time per call.
“
Standardizing this time and subjecting it to a logic of performance would make no sense,
” insists the association, which takes care of 2,000 women in distress each week - and even 7,000 during the first confinement.
The competitive bidding process, which is due to end in 2021, is being considered by the government on the occasion of the forthcoming extension of the helpline's hours, announced during the “
Grenelle
” against domestic violence.
In 2021, the service must operate 24 hours a day, while it currently closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on weekends.
Read also: Domestic violence: 15% increase in online reports since confinement
The Minister Delegate in charge of Gender Equality, Elisabeth Moreno, explained in early November that she had "
no other choice
", for legal reasons, than to launch a call for tenders, because "
the State is at the initiative of this service and it will finance it up to 100%
”.
"
We are convinced that the FNSF has the perfect legitimacy to respond to this market
", added the Minister.
The FNSF, which created line 3919 in 1992 and manages it since then, is linked to the State by an agreement of objectives and resources.
The government finances 80% of the crisis line budget, the rest coming from local communities and patrons.
In 2019, the state subsidy to the FNSF was 1.6 million euros, according to Francoise Brié, its director general.
"
We could very well continue in the same framework as today,
" she told AFP, stressing that the FNSF had so far been "
pilot
" of line 3919, and that she feared a "
Takeover
" by the State.