France
High awareness, too few resources: that is the situation in France
Violence against women: People are also becoming increasingly sensitive to the issue in France
© DPA
French women’s rights activists have succeeded in anchoring the issue of violence against women in society. But, they say, there is not enough money to really help those affected.
Catherine, 46, died in Paris in January. Her ex-boyfriend took her with him after the breakup Mercury poisoned. In February, Elisa, 24, was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend in Corsica. Her new partner was also killed.
Cagla, 36, died in May. Her former partner also killed her two children, aged 13 and two. The man had already been convicted of domestic violence; he was not allowed to approach the mother, but he had visitation rights for the youngest child. Aline, 39, was also stabbed by her ex-partner in June in the presence of her daughter when he allegedly wanted to discuss visitation rights with her. Nelly, 40, was stabbed by her ex because she fled the apartment they shared. Karine, 54, died at the hands of her husband because she wanted to move away. She had five children.
Adélaide, 40, was strangled while her ex-partner was on the loose. Armelle, 44, was found dead in her boyfriend’s freezer. She met him again to finally end the relationship. Karen, 42, was killed with a machete by her ex in August. She reported him because he didn’t pay maintenance.
Killed because they left their partner
You can find these and many other stories on the website of the collective “Nous Toutes”, “All of us”: As of November 11th, 114 femicides in France had already been counted there for the year 2023. Last year there were 147. From the short descriptions of the individual cases you can see what it’s all about: the victims are not coincidentally women. The majority of them were killed because they left their partners. Because they “provoked” anger or refused affection. In short: because they didn’t behave the way the man wanted. To make this difference clear, women’s rights activists do not speak of “femicides” (the murder of women), but of “feminicides” – women who are killed because they are women.
The difference is important because you can only fight what is named: terms like “domestic violence” or “relationship drama” sound like terrible individual fates. And conceal the fact that there is a special form of violence behind it that only affects women. A woman is killed every third day in France. In Germany too. The numbers have been known for years and they are not decreasing. On the contrary, the number of attempted murders is actually increasing.
In France, the issue is now anchored in society thanks to feminist campaigns. Women are increasingly going to the police if their partner is violent. In order to make the process as low-threshold as possible, in some regions of France cases of domestic violence can also be reported confidentially in hospitals. Actually progress. However, the increasing number of reports also shows how ineffective it often is when women seek help: in around a third of femicides, the perpetrator already had a criminal record. Around 80 percent of registered complaints are not followed up by the authorities, according to the “Nous Toutes” collective. There is a lack of staff, money and contact points. Many women give up because they simply cannot afford to get to safety: they would have to leave the region, quit their job, retrain their children, find a new apartment. If possible, do this overnight and alone so as not to leave any traces.
When the women take to the streets in France on November 25th, they are demanding above all: a billion-dollar budget to finance the necessary measures to combat violence against women. The model for the model is Spain, where appropriate funds were passed in 2017.