On the eve of the Day to Combat Violence Against Women, Gironde protection associations are warning

“We don't have white coats or fire sirens, and yet, every day, we save lives by preventing infanticide and feminicide. » As the Day Against Violence Against Women approaches, on November 25, representatives of the associations of the Violence Against Women network in Gironde (read framework) gathered to take stock of their actions and “ring the bell alarm” in a “particularly worrying budgetary and philosophical” context.

“The current news, and in particular the Mazan rape trial, only corroborates what we have been saying for many years,” says Annie Carraretto, co-president of Family Planning 33. “In France, feminicide is committed every every 2.5 days and a child dies every five days as a result of domestic violence. However, we are facing catastrophic difficulties in managing these issues,” continues Élise Sevenet, director of Cacis and Maison d’Ella, where today’s discussions take place.

Intensification of violence

“We are facing an extremely worrying intensification of violence: + 16% of acts of violence declared in 2023, and at the same time, the dedicated resources are decreasing,” underlines Naïma Charaï, of the Association for the Welcoming of Women in difficulty (Apafed) which notably offers emergency accommodation to female victims. “Sometimes we find ourselves unable to take care of them. So we say to ourselves: ''What do we do in an absolute emergency?'' According to the Women's Foundation, at the national level, 40% of women who request emergency accommodation do not receive a response. . »

“We must do the work of public services with fewer resources”

Faced with these findings, the associations are demanding more financial resources. “We are given approvals, missions, but basically, we have to do the work of public services with fewer resources,” storms Bernadette Bonnac Hude of the Information Center on the Rights of Women and Families (CIDFF). All the representatives of these associations say they have noticed a drop in the allocations allocated to them. “As the majority of these are annual allocations, we have no visibility. This is only short term, whereas we are talking about a long term issue. Every euro spent is useful for society. »

The network intends to “consolidate and perpetuate what already exists”: reception structures, prevention from an early age through schools, etc. “But, for example, we have difficulty completing our financial year,” explains Sandrine Le Roux, for the Maison des femmes de Bordeaux. As it stands, it is unlikely that we will go further than June 2025… What will happen if we disappear? »