The shock wave caused by the extraordinary trial of the Mazan rape case reawakened the movement, like a second #MeToo. More than 400 organizations and personalities are calling for demonstrations this Saturday against sexist and sexual violence. Rallies are planned in many cities including Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille and Lille, two days before the International Day Against Violence Against Women, Monday. In Paris, the procession must leave at 2 p.m. from Gare du Nord to reach Place de la Bastille.
This mobilization against all forms of violence (sexual, physical, psychological, economic, etc.) is taking place this year in a particular context, in the middle of the Mazan rape trial – around fifty men accused of having raped Gisèle Pelicot while she was unconscious, drugged by her husband.
This trial with international resonance, where the indictment scheduled for three days will take place from Monday, “shows that the culture of rape is anchored in society, like violence against women”, underlined Amandine Cormier, of Grève feminist, during a press conference Wednesday in Paris. “Patriarchal violence occurs everywhere, in homes, in workplaces, places of study, in the street, in transport, in healthcare establishments, absolutely everywhere in society,” he said. she added.
The call for mobilization was signed by more than 400 organizations (Women's Foundation, Family Planning, #NousToutes, etc.) and personalities (Angèle, Judith Godrèche and Vanessa Springora, etc.). Unions, including the CGT and the CFDT with their general secretaries Marylise Léon and Sophie Binet expected in Paris, will also be represented in the processions.
Measures announced on November 25
“Successive governments have increased their promises but the means are paltry and decreasing, political action is almost non-existent,” deplore the signatories, who call for a “real start”. In November 2017, a few months after his accession to the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron declared equality between women and men “the great cause of the five-year term”, with the “first pillar” the fight “for the complete elimination of violence done to women.”
An emergency call number, 3919, for women victims of violence and their entourage, has been set up as well as serious danger telephones and anti-reconciliation bracelets in particular. Measures welcomed by women's rights associations who, however, consider them insufficient and urge the Head of State to change gear. They are demanding a total budget of 2.6 billion euros per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace current legislation that they consider “fragmented and incomplete”.
Everything you need to know about the Mazan rape case
At the beginning of November, Secretary of State for Gender Equality Salima Saa promised that she would announce “concrete and effective measures” by November 25. These measures will aim, among other things, to “improve the mechanisms for reaching out” to victims, particularly in rural areas, and to strengthen “the reception and care of victims” via “training of front-line actors”, a- she clarified.
