Phones ringing in a vacuum, selection of files… Associations that help women victims of sexual or domestic violence are struggling to cope with the exponential increase in calls since the movement for the liberation of women’s speech. “Since the outbreak of #MeToo and the pedophilia scandals in the Church, the telephone line is overwhelmed with calls. But we lack the ears to respond to everyone, ”assures Emmanuelle Piet, president of the Feminist collective against rape (CFCV) which manages Violences Femmes Informations, a help line for victims of rape.
A quarter of calls cannot be handled by this line, which received 20 to 25% more calls between 2017 and 2022. Line 3919 for victims of domestic violence handled 92,000 calls in 2022, twice as many than in 2017, according to Françoise Brié, director general of the National Federation Solidarity Women (FNSF), which manages it.
Calls multiplied by two or three
But here again a quarter of the calls cannot be taken care of, for lack of sufficient staff. “We receive 250 calls a day on weekends, compared to 150 before. We have to recruit for the weekend, adds Françoise Brié. We do not count the minutes, in front of women sometimes in tears. A call can take a quarter of an hour or an hour,” she continues.
With each campaign against violence, each media case, after a television program, the number of calls is multiplied by two or three, sometimes tenfold. “If we expect it, we say: ‘Don’t take time off, everyone is listening.’ But we cannot take on three temporary workers to manage the wave because it is a specialized profession: you need shrinks, lawyers, marriage counselors, social workers, ”emphasizes Emmanuelle Piet.
Faced with the influx of files, European association against violence against women at work (AVFT) had to reduce the hours of its telephone reception to three half-days a week, compared to every day before 2017, to limit the number of files processed and properly follow them up in court.
Several help lines are available for women victims of violence and adults who have been victims of sexual violence in childhood:
– Violence Women Info (3919) : It is intended for women who are victims of violence, particularly domestic violence. It is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
– Rape Women Information (0800 05 95 95): Managed by the Collectif Féministe contre le Viol (CFCV), for victims of sexual assault and rape.
– Victims of incest and sexual violence in childhood (0805 802 804 and 0800 100 811 for Overseas): Also managed by the CFCV, it is intended for adult victims of sexual violence in childhood.
– AVFT (01 45 84 24 24): The European Association against violence against women at work is contacted by women who suffer harassment and sexual assault, rape, exhibition.