“
Mr. Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, do you know how many police and gendarmes there are violent towards their (ex) spouses, female colleagues or complainants?
"A petition launched on the Change.org platform calls for an"
exhaustive investigation to find out the number of police and gendarmes implicated in cases of violence against women and / or children
"and their transfer to another post. The text is at the initiative of the Abandon de famille-Tolérance zero collective and supported by twelve associations. As of August 4, it has collected more than 23,600 signatures. At the same time, the #MeTooFdO was launched on social networks, and a form is available for victims wishing to testify.
Read also: Is making domestic violence the "priority" of the police achievable?
Stéphanie Lamy, president of the Abandon de famille collective, explains that she was "
indignant that the police officer responsible for taking the complaint of Chahinez Daoud
(killed in Mérignac by her violent husband in July, Editor's note)
,
was himself the author of domestic violence
, condemned , and still in office
”. According to her, such a situation skews the work of the police: "
It is not acceptable (...) We want the number of perpetrators to be counted, because if we have it, we have an idea of the magnitude of the phenomenon and omerta.
"For Stéphanie Lamy, an author of violence will not have the right assessment"
to collect the complaint of a victim and assess the dangerousness of a man
".
An opinion shared by Sandrine Bouchel, president of the National Union of Feminicides of France: "
Knowing that they
(the victims, Editor's note)
can potentially be heard by a perpetrator of violence will make the process, already difficult, even more. more complicated
”.
"Something that is not thought of by the authorities"
Journalist Sophie Boutboul had compiled testimonies of women victims of their gendarme or police spouse in the book
Silence, on bangs
(Grasset) in 2019. For her, “
it's something that is not thought of by the authorities or that Interests them ... Moreover, this is what is
in Darmanin's response to the
Parisian
: about twenty final convictions, he said.
But in fact, it is necessary to be interested, beyond the convictions, with the people who are recruited whereas they have complaints against them for
domestic or family violence.
Read also: Domestic violence: Gérald Darmanin promises new measures from Monday
Still according to her, the representatives of the law "
will use the power they will have to threaten
" the plaintiffs: "
I am the law
" or "
I know the judge
" are sentences often heard. She also mentions
"preferential treatment" from
which the accused police officers would benefit. “
For example, we left the phone to the respondent during police custody when it is prohibited. And that kind of behavior will prevent convictions. There is a double responsibility for justice and the authorities on this subject,
”explains Sophie Boutboul. For her, families and victims have been warning in vain for years:
"We do not even manage to access the number of complaints for domestic violence
.
"
Contacted by us, the Ministry of the Interior has not yet responded to our requests.
Suspend the carrying of weapons and train personnel
In March, MP Fiona Lazaar (LREM) asked the government a question, which has remained unanswered to date, to find out the extent of domestic violence committed by police and gendarmes. According to her, there are several issues: "
In the event of a report, the development of the post to no longer allow the reception of the public (to the civil servant) and the suspension of the carrying of weapons must be treated as a priority
". There is no question of being in an anti-police speech, however, assures the elected official. “
The police and gendarmes are the first to intervene (…) but domestic violence crosses all of society, including the police
”.
For the centrist senator Annick Billon, who supports the initiative behind the petition, it is necessary to "
train the personnel
" and to put the means.
"
We do not know how
" the measures announced by Gérald Darmanin will be implemented or effective, she worries.
And to add: “
Putting more police officers, that's good, but how are we going to relieve the congestion of the courts?
It is also necessary to accompany, with accommodation, a job (because often, one leaves it), to give again a possible horizon
"to the victims.
Read also: Is making domestic violence the "priority" of the police achievable?
Unlike other countries like the United States, France does not have statistics on the subject. The National Federation of Women Solidarity had recorded 115 calls to the helpline 3919 of spouses of police or military in 2016, or 10% of the files where the profession was informed.