Paris implements its plan against violence against children

Blows, sexual violence, incest, cyber harassment… The Council of Paris voted unanimously this Friday morning a plan to fight against violence against children.

"The figures are alarming," said Dominique Versini, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of children's rights and child protection. One in ten children is the victim of sexual violence. A child dies in France at the hands of his parents every five days. And the number of hospitalizations of children under 5 for mistreatment has doubled during confinement. One in 10 children is also the victim of bullying on social networks. This violence is intolerable. "

To build this system, the City, a pioneer in the field, relied on 250 actors from child protection, justice, National Education, the family allowance fund, the PMI , pediatrics, child psychiatry or even associations as well as researchers from Paris or other regions of France.

A home for children who are victims of incest

"This plan aims to fight against all forms of violence suffered by children within their families, in schools or extracurriculars, in sport or in cultural associations, or even in public spaces or homes in the city. child welfare.

It is accompanied by 24 commitments, ”said the former children's advocate (between June 2006 and April 2011).

Among the flagship measures, the City wishes to develop the Children's Rights Mission in all the districts from the next school year.

The City will also set up a House for the Rights of the Child which will be a "one-stop shop for violence against children."

Communication actions and campaigns will be put in place to make the 380,000 children of the capital better aware of the emergency numbers (119, 3020, 3018) as well as the places to which they can turn if they feel in danger. .

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Other innovative projects: the opening of a child protection home for victims of incest, the second in France after that of Agen.

It should open by mid-2022 after a call for projects in September, and will have a budget of 2 million euros for around thirty accommodation places.

There will also be a child welfare establishment for children “co-victims of domestic violence” with their mother and a day care center for those who are prey to harassment.

City staff will be better trained

Delphine Malachard des Reyssiers, from the Changer Paris (LR) group, insisted on “the need to take concrete measures to make this plan a truly operational tool.

The district town halls can, for example, be supports in order to cover all the educational establishments in partnership with the associations involved in the rights of the child and the police stations.

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Camille Naget (PCF), she regretted that this plan is based on young people in civic service and wanted them to be able to benefit from employment contracts.

Maud Lelièvre, from the MoDem Democrats and Ecologists group, for her part wanted the emergency numbers to appear "in classes, playgrounds and on playgrounds".

"The rights of children are rights in their own right for people whose feelings are even more intense than that of adults", recalled with emotion the elected member of the group Paris in common (PS), Geneviève Garrigos, who had confided in front of the Paris Council last January to have been a victim of incest at the age of 5.

Dominique Versini concluded his intervention by specifying that the City was going to strengthen its human resources policy "to better train and monitor staff in contact with children".