A sanctuary for women who have often experienced the worst.
Aurore Bergé, Minister Delegate in charge of Equality between Women and Men and the Fight against Discrimination, met this Wednesday evening with three victims of family violence, sheltered by the Bercail association in Chartres (Eure-et-Loir ).
As if to reassure them, but above all to support them in their choice, Aurore Berger never stopped praising the strength these women show in fleeing their marital home.
“We must measure their incredible courage in having managed to leave and speak out about the violence they suffered,” points out the minister.
“We ask them a lot: to say, to file a complaint, to get up, to straighten themselves out… It’s still quite spectacular when you go through the violence they suffered,” continues the ex-MP.
" There is still a lot to do "
Fatoumata
(first names have been changed to guarantee the anonymity of the victims)
, mother of a young infant, receives the minister in her room.
“I fled for my son, because he had nothing to do with it,” said the young mother.
“But neither do you,” Aurore Bergé retorts.
Words that make the protégé of the Bercail burst into tears.
In Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), the minister was able to discover an association which “mainly welcomes women victims of domestic violence who need support, listening, and accompaniment to escape this violence”, explains Tiphaine Delépine, the head of department.
For her, “the most important thing was that Aurore Bergé met these women, to hear their life experience in order to understand that there was still a lot to do,” notes the manager.
Also read October 7: the government refuses to subsidize feminist associations whose comments are deemed “ambiguous”
Facing local elected officials, law enforcement, prosecutors, health professionals and associations fighting against domestic violence, Aurore Berger heard the initiatives undertaken to detect this violence as early as possible while deploring the “terrible case”, d a new feminicide, this Tuesday in Montpellier (Hérault) in front of the courthouse.
A tragedy “which is not always predictable”, justified the member of the Attal government.
640 police custody for domestic violence
In Eure-et-Loir, this violence is increasing and represents “30% of the activity of the Public Prosecutor's Office, or one in three police custody”, specifies Frédéric Chevallier, the public prosecutor.
“640 people in police custody for domestic violence were counted in 2023, which is 40% more than three years ago,” said the magistrate.
The difficulty for these women is often leaving home.
“On average, a woman will make seven return trips, seven times she will leave and return to the family home and continue to put her life in danger,” chants Aurore Bergé.
To facilitate their departure, the government has introduced universal emergency aid since December 1st.
“A woman who has filed a complaint can be accompanied between two and five days by immediate financial assistance, delivered by the Family Allowance Funds (Caf) so it is very anonymous, because you are going for many reasons to go in a Caf and no one will categorize you as a victim of violence,” she reassured her interlocutors of the day.