It is a place of breathing for all those who have their breath taken away. In Rennes, the Gisèle Halimi women’s center fills a void. Already committed to the fight against violence against women, the Breton capital did not have a place of reception for all the women suffering from beatings or the diktat of their spouse. Opened this Thursday on the site of the South Hospital, in Blosne, this day reception space will not offer accommodation but is intended more as “a therapeutic and resource place” managed by the Rennes University Hospital and the Asfad, association supporting women victims of violence.
The structure will have three units: one dedicated to violence and situations of harassment or incest, another reserved for sexual mutilation and the last focused on sexual health and voluntary termination of pregnancy with the possibility for women of to be supported in their abortion. This cocoon provides living and resting spaces and allows female victims to place their belongings there, wash their clothes or cook food. “It must be safe, comfortable and pleasant to allow these women to rebuild their lives,” the general director recently emphasized. of Asfad.
In France, 118 women were killed by their spouse in 2022. Around 244,000 victims of domestic violence, mainly women, were received by the police. A figure up 15% compared to 2021, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.