Expanded complaint system in hospitals, awareness of chemical submission, reinforced universal emergency aid: the government announced on Monday new measures against violence against women, reaffirming to make this fight “its priority” in the middle of the trial Mazan.
Two days after a day of mobilization in the street at the call of associations denouncing “hands-on tricks” and “insufficient” action by the government, the Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men, Salima Saa, assured that the executive was fully “mobilized” on this issue, which Emmanuel Macron made the “great cause” of his five-year term.
The system allowing women victims of sexual violence to file a complaint in a hospital with an emergency or gynecological department will be expanded, she announced on Franceinfo on the occasion of International Elimination Day violence against women.
The use of this system, in which the hospital contacts the police or the public prosecutor's office to file a complaint, is already possible in many French hospitals but will be extended to 377 structures by the end of 2025. she clarified.
This measure, which Prime Minister Michel Barnier will return to on Monday afternoon during a visit to the Maison des femmes at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, is already the subject of 236 agreements with establishments, according to Salima Saa .
– A “after Mazan” –
“For all hospitals that have an emergency department and a gynecological department, within this hospital, in fact, a woman who travels there will be able to file a complaint,” explained the secretary. of state. It is up to the establishment to contact the police station or the gendarmerie so that someone can come “to take the complaint”.
Another measure announced was the launch, this week, of an information campaign to help potential victims of chemical submission, which she described as a “new scourge”.
This campaign, born on the occasion of the Mazan rape trial, was initiated by the M'endors pas association, co-founded by the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot, the main victim at the heart of this affair with international resonance, and the platform listening center of Crafs (Reference center on attacks facilitated by substances), in partnership with the Order of Pharmacists.
This platform “can answer, and advise you, and tell you in which laboratory, what to do with your hair, blood tests, urine”, said Salima Saa, according to which there will be “a before and one after Mazan” as there “was a before and an after #Metoo”.
– Budget on the rise –
Implemented at the end of 2023, universal emergency aid, designed to help victims of domestic violence and support them when they leave their home, will see its budget increase from 13 million euros in the draft law. finances (PLF) 2024 to 20 million euros in the PLF 2025, according to Salima Saa. Since its launch, this measure has benefited 33,000 people.
This aid, which can vary between 240 euros up to 1,330 euros depending on the situation, is on average 800 euros.
In total, “we managed to obtain a 10% increase in the budget” devoted to gender equality, which rose to 85.1 million euros (+7.7 M EUR) in the 2025 PLF, argued the Secretary of State.
The announcement of government measures should not, however, be enough to respond to the demands of women's rights associations who are calling for a total budget of 2.6 billion euros per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace existing legislation. current situation which they consider “fragmented and incomplete”.
According to the latest official figures, 93 women were victims of marital femicide in 2023. More than 110,000 victims of sexual violence – the overwhelming majority of whom were women (85%) – were recorded by the police in the same year.
According to the feminist collective #Noustoutes, 122 women have been killed since the start of the year.
