Women farmers, violence against women, access to care, financing… The Secretary of State responsible for equality between women and men, Salima Saa, outlined her priorities in Corrèze this Friday. A department where she was prefect between 2020 and 2022.
The Secretary of State in charge of equality between women and men Salima Saa is in Corrèze this Friday, October 25. A visit which takes her from Chameyrat to Sainte-Fortunade via Objat and Brive. Meeting with the former prefect of the department, who came to take the pulse on the ground and raise the needs in terms of equality.
Why did you choose Corrèze as your first trip to the Province? It is a department in which I was prefect and to which I am extremely attached. It was important for me to highlight rural women, women farmers. There are specificities for women when they work on farms like here and it is important to be in contact with them, to listen to them, to understand their difficulties. I met young women motivated to take over farms, who are supported by the Chamber of Agriculture composed here in a fairly egalitarian manner.
What do you get out of these exchanges? There are still obstacles as they said. Psychological brakes with sometimes less credibility than a man when they go to see the banker. There is also a subject that I did not measure: it is the adaptation of agricultural machines to women. I think that the manufacturers of these machines must be accompanied by female engineers to take into account body types and adapt the machines to women. We will then have made great progress. Another room for progress, help in managing children, access to care, public services, we must develop the “go towards”.
Did you also come today to talk about violence against women, sadly illustrated these days by the Mazan rape trial? What do you think will come out of this? Violence against women is a major subject that affects us every day and this Mazan trial shocks everyone with this feeling of horror, disgust and amazement. It highlights chemical submission, the notion of consent and if there must be a political outlet for this trial, it is to work on this definition of rape.
Are you in favor of introducing the notion of consent into the law?
We are working on it with the Keeper of the Seals. We must be careful with the wording and ensure that it remains in the interest of the victims. That's the concern: being careful about how it will be written in the text so that victims always remain protected.
The silk house in Brive welcomes victims of domestic violence
How can we ensure that complaints of sexual violence are pursued more? There is a subject on collecting evidence and a subject on assembling cases. I would like to work on better training for the police or associations which welcome these victims so that the files are well prepared and allow the procedure to be completed.
Should we educate boys differently today?
Education for me is the key subject. It’s not just about boys but it’s about educating everyone. There is this law from 2001 with these three compulsory school sessions, which is not applied. I am working with the Minister of National Education to put them in place. For me, it really involves education and the triptych: protect, educate and act.
Can the cause of equality between men and women be hampered by budgetary restrictions?
The good news for my state secretariat, which is a combat state secretariat, is that I managed to have a 10% budget increase. We will continue the fight and the actions.
Concerning the associations, we will also discuss it with the prefect in charge of departmental envelopes, to finance them, but also to evaluate the actions, correct what is not working, continue those which are working. It is important to evaluate, because it is public money.
Collected by Laetitia Soulier
