The committee for the promotion and protection of women's rights took advantage of the international day for the elimination of violence against women to launch a new campaign entitled “From Shadow to Light”as well as a digital book.
Following the international day for the elimination of violence against women, November 25, 2024, the committee for the promotion and protection of women's rights, and the interministerial delegate for the promotion and protection of women's rights women, Céline Cottalorda, took the opportunity to launch a new communication campaign, “From Shadow to Light”. In 2023, the subject had been centered around digital, but this year, the objective was to look towards the end of the tunnel. By discussing the different ways of resisting, but also of rebuilding oneself, after being a victim of violence. This time, it is also a question of focusing on invisible violence, which can also prove destructive.
Nine people were selected and interviewed, in different sectors, in order to be able to tell their experiences, their “chronicles of invisible violence”
Domination
This violence that we do not perceive at first glance can be of several types. There is economic and administrative violence, which concerns people who are dependent on someone who has all the financial resources. Then, there is also the question of violence committed in the world of sport, where, little by little, tongues are loosened. Moreover, in France, a 170-page report on “sexist and sexual violence under a relationship of authority or power” was published on November 18, 2024 (1). It is interested in the sector of sport, culture, and politics, and it proposes 41 recommendations, including 15 “priorities in the world of work” and 10 in the areas of health, culture, sport and political institutions.
Among the major measures, this report puts forward, for example, the idea of making the payment of public aid conditional on the effective implementation of measures to prevent sexist and sexual violence, particularly in terms of training and communication. For the sports sector, it is proposed to condition the professional sports card “effective monitoring” raising awareness of gender-based and sexual violence. These are often relationships of authority or power that allow a coach to gain the upper hand and establish themselves in a position of domination, which creates favorable conditions for sexist and sexual violence. This report also highlights the interest in continuing to promote gender parity to break this state of affairs.
Another option: deploy teams coached by two coaches, to avoid relationships that are limited to one-on-one between coach and player. Here again, the task is immense. We remember that, during the summer of 2023, the world of chess was marked by an open letter from French chess players who called for denouncing sexist and sexual violence in this environment. This pushed the Monte-Carlo chess circle (CEMC) to show solidarity. Finally, invisible violence can also concern people with disabilities, whose words are not always sufficiently listened to and taken into consideration.
Read also | Gender-based and sexual violence: the “solidarity” Monte-Carlo chess circle
“The spectrum of violence is much wider”
So there is still a lot of work to do. In Monaco, for the year 2024, the figures stopped at 1is November, report 49 cases of violence against a woman recorded by public security, compared to 46 in 2023, over the same period. In 2023, 57 proceedings and 9 convictions were handed down, for facts which could date back to 2022. For 2024, 35 people who were victims of violence went to see the association for assistance to victims of criminal offenses (Avip).
There is economic and administrative violence, which concerns dependent people facing someone who has all the economic resources. Then, there is also the question of violence committed in the world of sport, where, little by little, tongues are loosened
To try to stop this violence, a digital book is available on the website of the committee for the promotion and protection of women's rights. It is built around the liberation of speech. In particular that of professionals from the principality, who have worked or who work with victims of violence. In total, nine people were selected and interviewed, from different sectors, in order to be able to tell their experiences. These “chronicles of invisible violence” give the floor to the director of Avip, Valérie Campora, to the lawyer MeRégis Bergonzi, to the childcare worker Yannick Alla, to the obstetrician-gynecologist Julia Aumiphin, to the midwife Nathalie Simmonet-Janin, to the social worker Nicole Orrao, to the psychologist Nadège Aleksic, to the eco-social-family advisor Christelle Dubois , and to police captain Claire Quessada-Taxil. Coming from the field, these testimonies are precious, because they give substance to the invisible.
“I took a look, I think it’s good, launches Priscillia Routier-Trillard, founder of The Sorority, an application that brings together women and people from gender minorities, ready to help each other. Many stop at the physical violence that is visible. But the spectrum of violence is much broader. It is often difficult for victims, who sometimes believe that it is not so serious and compare it with other forms of violence. And for loved ones, who cannot identify the violence because it is not visible. We're moving forward, that's a good sign. »
Read also | Priscillia Routier-Trillard, founder of The Sorority: “We could bring this citizen support to Monaco”
1) This mission was carried out by the senior civil servant Christine Abrossimov, the general secretary of the national HRD association, Christine Caldeira, the former tennis player Angélique Cauchy, the former senator Bariza Khiari, the gynecologist Marie- France Olieric and lawyer Rachel-Flore Pardo.
