Wednesday January 15, 2025 at the Besançon judicial court in Doubs, the signing of the protocol relating to the improvement of the care of children in the context of domestic homicide took place. We'll explain it to you.
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“There is no worse misfortune for a child than losing one of their parents in such violent circumstances”. To talk about the care of children in the context of domestic homicide and mainly in the case of feminicides, Patricia Lime, representative of Christine Boutin, president of the Doubs department, chooses these words and quotes Simone Veil.
In order not to add misfortune to misfortune, the Doubs department and its political, judicial and medical-social actors signed a protocol on Wednesday January 15 relating to the improvement of the care of children affected by the loss of a parent. , when the latter is killed by the second parent. Objective: to avoid empirical management of minors and professionalize their care as soon as the facts arise.
Since January 2024, the Besançon court, the ARS, the Doubs gendarmerie, the Doubs department, the Besançon University Hospital, the Novillars hospital center and the General Council are working on the development of this protocol. The objective is threefold. Leading to urgent action, the protocol makes it possible to identify the framework of action for each action, to also organize immediate and systematic hospitalization and finally to allow an immediate evaluation of the overall situation of the child and of his surroundings.
“We started from the observation that in the context of legal cases on the department and in particular on marital homicides, when a spouse commits a homicide on his or her spouse, the question of taking care of the children arises,” presents Alain Troilo, president of the court of Besançon. “Under the leadership of Christine de Curraize, the idea was to think about better care for children”. Christine de Curraize is the deputy prosecutor at the Besançon public prosecutor's office.
Children are considered victims of domestic violence. Before, it was just witnesses.
In six years, three feminicides involving children have taken place in the Doubs department. On October 30, 2018, a national of Afghan origin was stabbed on a public highway (read our article again). Her partner, who had fled, had been extradited. “This couple had two children and they had to be taken in urgently,” recalls Etienne Manteaux, public prosecutor of Besançon.
On September 6, 2022, in Morre, a woman was shot dead by her partner in their home. The man then committed suicide by turning the gun on himself. “The children found themselves returning from school with the gendarmerie in front of their homes. With this case, we became aware that management should not be empirical, but that a protocol was needed,” specifies the public prosecutor.
Recently, on July 25, 2024, a lady was strangled by her husband who later committed suicide by burning down the marital home. “He had three children including a minor who had to be taken care of”.
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Concretely, “we have provided reflex sheets for the investigators, basic things to think about: emergency clothing, the comfort blanket, the health record. Things to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible for the minor” , specifies Etienne Manteaux. Following the tragedy, the children will be directly cared for by the pediatric and child psychiatry hospital services of the Besançon University Hospital and the Novillars hospital center.
There are real, intense psychological injuries that need to be addressed immediately. We tend to hide it.
Christine de Curraize is the deputy prosecutor at the Besançon public prosecutor's office
For an average of three to five days, a SAS, access to care service, allows children to relax and be cared for by health professionals. A beneficial time which allows the ASE (child welfare) to evaluate family solutions.
It appears that often in an emergency the children are handed over to an aunt who is herself in mourning, it is very complicated in terms of care. She will quickly find herself in difficulty.
This hospitalization time allows families to receive the news without having to directly take care of the children. Following this evaluation time, the children's judge will be contacted and will decide what is most suitable for the minors. A family solution will be sought as a priority.
In this type of situation, “it is very important to assess the surroundings, because there are prohibitions. The SAS makes it possible to answer the child's questions, because in the family as in the father's family, they may not necessarily be able to ask questions or just the loved ones will not be able to answer because they are suffering too much”, specifies Christine de Curraize. This type of protocol already exists in other departments and was initiated in Seine-Saint-Denis, in Bobigny.
This very practical protocol remains flexible. Shock may require longer hospitalization or, conversely, an adaptation of the protocol. For the feminicide of summer 2024, the protocol under construction has been activated. “The teenager had a very difficult time being hospitalized. We weren't at all rigid. He wanted to mourn with his family and he was able to go see his brother and sister who were adults.” she assures. At the end of this hospitalization, the children will continue their psychological support.
