For a few weeks now, the handbag of Marion (the name has been changed), 45, has been a little heavier.
Inside, a case, a little more bulky than a cell phone.
The device, equipped with a GPS, locates her and especially alerts her if her husband is approaching.
The 40-year-old, originally from the Angoulême region (Charente), is one of the first women in France to benefit from the protection of the anti-reconciliation bracelet (BAR).
Since the launch in the fall and the distribution of the 1000 devices in France, 13 have been awarded by the courts, and six are still at the ankle of perpetrators of domestic violence.
After a month of experience, Marion tells us about life not always easy with this little box that follows her everywhere.
After 31 years of relationship, including 23 of marriage, this argument is one too many.
This evening of December 4, Marion is afraid: “It was thirty minutes of horror, I did not recognize my husband's face.
He was pale.
He said he was going to ruin my life and he was going to swing me through the picture window.
"Gestures" are also committed, slips the forty-something modestly.
The next day, this nurse in a health establishment does not come home and pushes the door of the gendarmerie to file a complaint.
"I promised myself it was the last time."
She tells of those years of being humiliated, belittled by a husband, who can become violent.
Those years of not telling friends or family: “I was ashamed and afraid of not being believed.
I was understood by the gendarme ”.
Examined by doctors, Marion was prescribed 30 days of temporary incapacity for work (ITT).
Her husband will be tried next April.
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A few days later, a family court judge issues a protection order and forbids her husband to come near.
To ensure this, the magistrate suggests setting up a BAR.
Marion accepts: "I didn't want him to go to jail, just that he understands that I'm moving on and that he leaves me in peace."
On December 31, Marion is equipped.
If her husband approaches within four kilometers of her, an operator of the Alliance assistance platform calls the perpetrator of domestic violence to ask him to move away.
If it is less than two kilometers away, the police can intervene.
He faces up to two years in prison if he breaks this ban.
At the same time, an operator can contact Marion to find out where she is and if she is safe.
In case of danger, Marion can trigger the alert herself, thanks to a simple button, as the telephones serious danger (TGD) already allow it.
A somewhat "anxiety-provoking" situation
“It's reassuring to know that someone is always on the phone,” she begins.
Before listing all the little hiccups of the device that made his daily life a little more difficult.
“I was told that it would not upset my life but it is ultimately very restrictive.
"
Angoulême is a small town and her husband, from whom she has filed for divorce, lives in the city center.
When she goes to work, drives her 17-year-old son to his place of learning, goes to her lawyer or her psychologist, Marion finds herself in the no-go zone and unwittingly triggers the calls.
A somewhat "anxiety-provoking" situation for the mother.
On January 1, the 40-year-old goes to work.
The GPS triggers an alert on the side of the monitoring platform.
“They called me six times before they realized that I was not in danger, but in my workplace,” she recalls.
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Another time, as she drops her son off at his girlfriend's, an operator calls her and orders her to leave the area as soon as possible: “I told her I was driving, that everything was fine.
But she wanted to stay on the line and asked me to leave the place, to hurry, otherwise she would call the police.
I was completely panicked!
"
"We are linked by a box"
Forget going out into town to stroll for a few hours in the shops, or having coffee at a friend's house in the city center… “I have to warn them of my appointments, to justify myself.
I'm not really free, ”she notes.
From there to think that the device is more restrictive for Marion than for her husband ...
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The impact of the case is also psychological for Marion.
"I must forget my husband, but we are linked by a box," she analyzes.
And I always tell myself that when I move, he is alerted to my proximity since he is contacted to tell him to move away… ”
On the side of France Victimes, one of the associations which coordinates the implementation of the bracelet, it is estimated that the attributions must be made on a case by case basis.
"It's tailor-made, all victims do not have the same needs, nor the same expectations", recognizes Jérôme Bertin, general manager of the association who welcomes all the same that "the technique protects the victims" .
"It's a good alternative to prison," remarks Isabelle Decosterd, on the side of the Charente branch of France Victimes.
But like all novelties, it must find its place.
"
