She was only 17 years old. Her ex-boyfriend, who is suspected of having killed her, is five years older than her. This man, already known to the police, was arrested on Sunday, in Paris, around 5:50 p.m., as he arrived at Saint-Lazare station. Earlier today, the victim’s body was discovered at his home in Rouen by the suspect’s brother.
After stabbing him several times, he fled towards the capital where he wanted to board a plane, at Orly, towards Algeria, the prosecution said in a press release. The suspect was taken into custody by investigators from the Rouen judicial police, responsible for the investigations. Officials will try to understand the motive for the crime and establish the sequence of events.
A quarter of adolescent girls in relationships affected
“Violence in romantic relationships among young people exists, even if it is not new,” explains to 20 Minutes Ernestine Ronai, head of the Seine-Saint-Denis Observatory of Violence Against Women. The figures also confirm it. According to a WHO study published last July in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health“nearly a quarter of adolescent girls in a relationship – or nearly 19 million adolescents – will have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner before the age of 20”.
In France, a third of women who reported having been victims of violence by a spouse or ex-spouse between 2011 and 2018 were aged 18 to 29, according to the report “Living environment and security » from the Ministry of the Interior, published in 2019. “Among young people, there is a lot of psychological violence. We notice phenomena of jealousy, the desire to have the other under control – possessive love – which is easier today with social networks. But we also knew girls who were burned. So we can clearly see that things can get worse,” continues Ernestine Ronai.
Psychological violence
Three years ago, Capucine, a student from Nantes, told 20 Minutes the ordeal her ex-boyfriend put her through when she was only 15 years old. “On the weekends, at my parents’ house, he was very nice to them but it was different when we were together. After the psychological influence came the physical violence. He kept me from sleeping, pushed me out of bed, tore up my revision sheets… Once, on vacation, he threw a shoe in my face over a photo story. He also forced me to have sex. I refused, he didn’t care. »
For Ernestine Ronai, it is important to do prevention among young people. The Seine-Saint-Denis Observatory of Violence Against Women has developed several tools to help them take stock of their relationship, in particular the violence meter. “On this rule, they can look at whether they are in respectful relationships, relationships that are starting to be dangerous, or really dangerous relationships. » It is difficult, at this age of life, to recognize that we are experiencing “psychological violence” from our true love.
“It is also important to allow young people to reveal the violence they are experiencing or have suffered, particularly domestic violence at the hands of their parents. This can have serious consequences for children, some of whom may tend to reproduce this type of violence observed at home. This must stop as soon as possible, which implies that we protect a mother who is a victim of domestic violence as soon as possible,” concludes Ernestine Ronai, who wants the establishment of a “real national prevention policy.” on violence in romantic relationships.
