11:00 a.m. – December 18, 2024 – by Info Clermont Métropole
The CHU Women’s House works in close collaboration with the local partners concerned, including the 25 Gisèle Halimi center, privileged partner of the project (© CHU).
The Maison des Femmes opened its doors on November 25 at the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital. This project, co-financed by ARS AURA to the tune of €145,000 per year and labeled Restart, aims to strengthen the care of women victims of violence.
Lhe Maison des Femmes, located on the Estaing site of the CHU, is part of the women’s and children’s center already offering gynecology-obstetrics, gynecological and pediatric emergencies services, as well as access to medico-legal resources. This initiative is based on coordinating the provision of care around three main areas combining care and support for victims, training of professionals and clinical and epidemiological research.
This project is part of network work with institutional and associative actors engaged in this mission and confirms the long-term commitment of the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital to supporting women victims of violence since 2000.
“The Maisons des Femmes ReStart association is delighted to welcome a 25e structure within her collective declared Violette Perrotte, General Director of La Maison des Femmes. Backed by the University Hospital, in conjunction with the mother-child center, La Maison des Femmes de Clermont-Ferrand fits perfectly into the multidisciplinary care system for women victims of violence, and works in conjunction with the sexual health center and other associations in the area to offer patients a dedicated and coordinated pathway. »
The Maison des Femmes is aimed at women residing in Puy-de-Dôme who are victims of all types of violence (psychological, economic, physical, sexual, mutilation, violence within the household and outside the household, etc.).
Minors are cared for at the UAPED (Pediatric Reception Unit for Children in Danger) located on the same site.
“One of the great strengths of the Women’s House of the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital lies in the synergy that it embodies between the hospital and the local associative network, making it possible to offer women victims of violence multidisciplinary care, adapted and complementary to existing systems explained Valérie Durand Roche, Director General of the University Hospital. In addition to the support it will offer patients, it also has an academic ambition, promoting training and research on violence against women. »
This reception area for women positions itself as a facilitator of access to care through a single reception desk, a dedicated telephone line, a friendly welcome and a space for speech collection combining security, privacy and confidentiality.
It is carried out by expert professionals trained in this care within a structure adapted to the situation.
These professionals carry out an assessment of the patient’s needs during day hospitalization in order to offer her a personalized care pathway and multidisciplinary monitoring (medical, psychological, social and legal) organized into several sectors: Violence sector; Emergency sector; Forensic sector; Sexual health, abortion and pregnancy sector; Female genital mutilation sector and Mental health and addiction sector.
Link with childhood
The Maison des Femmes relies on the coordination of several formalized care sectors within the University Hospital as well as cooperation with the liberal sector.
“Having a Women’s Center in each department is one of the priority objectives that I have set, so that each woman victim of violence can find someone to listen to and respond throughout our region,” declared Cécile Courrèges, General Director of the ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The Clermont-Ferrand Women’s House is the first in the Auvergne region; it was important to allow a territorial rebalancing in the west of the region. Because we cannot talk about violence against women without addressing domestic violence, this project was co-constructed with that of the Children in Danger Pediatric Reception Unit (UAPED), another national structuring system in terms of victimology for our ARS. »
Awareness-raising and training actions for health professionals will also be put in place to strengthen the screening and identification of female victims and support professionals in handling these situations.
The CHU Women’s House works in close collaboration with the local partners concerned, including the 25 Gisèle Halimi center, a privileged partner of the project.
This network encompasses all local stakeholders, including the City, the voluntary sector, justice, law enforcement and social services of the Metropolis and the State.
This initiative represents a strengthening of available resources, but also a new space for listening and support for women, helping to break the silence and support those who need it most.
