Measures the government should take to fight violence against women in France 2020
On November 25, 2017, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the French President declared that he had committed to "the cause of the five-year term being that of equality between women and men," of which he considered the first pillar to be "the fight for the complete elimination of violence against women." For French people surveyed on this issue in 2020, the leading action to be taken by the government to this end was to increase responsibility for physical and sexual crimes against women.
In 2019, there were nearly 213,000 women victims of physical and/or sexual violence by their partner or ex-partner, as well as nearly 150 women killed by their spouses. And, while this figure had fallen slightly in 2020, domestic violence is far from having ceased during lockdowns. In fact, according to a survey conducted in November 2020, nearly one in ten French women had experienced domestic violence during the first lockdown period (March 17 to May 11, 2020), and this proportion was even higher among mothers.
According to ministerial data, the number of men indicted for sexual violence amounted to 27,156 in 2020, and the number of convictions for rape to 732. Yet, more than 48,000 women were victims of sexual violence the previous year, and more than 20,000 were victims of rape. Moreover, more than two-thirds of cases of sexual violence were dismissed by the public prosecutor's office, and this proportion even exceeds three-quarters in cases of sexual harassment.
More generally, the quality of police handling of complaints of domestic, sexual, or gender-based violence in France is far from being unanimously approved. Only one third of victims who have filed a complaint report that they were well taken care of by law enforcement. On the contrary, others mention a trivialization of the facts on the part of the police, frequent refusals to take the complaint into account, discouragement, and even guilt-inducing speeches or discriminating statements.
Thus, the denunciation of the lack of means put in place by the government and of the absence of structural reforms on the part of many feminist associations does not seem surprising. These associations perceive the "great cause of the five-year term" as a series of announcements that have produced very few results. In fact, in October 2021, less than half of French women said they were satisfied with Emmanuel Macron's action regarding women's rights.
Polymorphous and large-scale violence
According to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), ratified by France on July 4, 2014, the term "violence against women" should be understood as a "violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women, and refers to all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats to engage in such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in public or private life."In 2019, there were nearly 213,000 women victims of physical and/or sexual violence by their partner or ex-partner, as well as nearly 150 women killed by their spouses. And, while this figure had fallen slightly in 2020, domestic violence is far from having ceased during lockdowns. In fact, according to a survey conducted in November 2020, nearly one in ten French women had experienced domestic violence during the first lockdown period (March 17 to May 11, 2020), and this proportion was even higher among mothers.
Improving penal response
In order to fight against this violence, more than two thirds of French people (67 percent of men and 70 percent of women) believe that the French government should strengthen the prosecution of perpetrators of sexual crimes and assaults against women.According to ministerial data, the number of men indicted for sexual violence amounted to 27,156 in 2020, and the number of convictions for rape to 732. Yet, more than 48,000 women were victims of sexual violence the previous year, and more than 20,000 were victims of rape. Moreover, more than two-thirds of cases of sexual violence were dismissed by the public prosecutor's office, and this proportion even exceeds three-quarters in cases of sexual harassment.
More generally, the quality of police handling of complaints of domestic, sexual, or gender-based violence in France is far from being unanimously approved. Only one third of victims who have filed a complaint report that they were well taken care of by law enforcement. On the contrary, others mention a trivialization of the facts on the part of the police, frequent refusals to take the complaint into account, discouragement, and even guilt-inducing speeches or discriminating statements.
Thus, the denunciation of the lack of means put in place by the government and of the absence of structural reforms on the part of many feminist associations does not seem surprising. These associations perceive the "great cause of the five-year term" as a series of announcements that have produced very few results. In fact, in October 2021, less than half of French women said they were satisfied with Emmanuel Macron's action regarding women's rights.
