The anger of the Minister of Justice, on May 7, 2021, is cold but palpable. Eric Dupond-Moretti notes that of the 1,000 anti-reconciliation bracelets available to the courts, only 61 have been fitted. “They are not intended to remain at the bottom of the drawers! », He asserts. Four days earlier, Chahinez, a mother of a family burned alive in the street, in Mérignac, by her ex-companion, just released from prison.
Rarely, however, has a device aimed at combating domestic violence aroused such expectations, both among associations and professionals. In Spain, since its entry into force in 2008, no woman equipped with this tool has been killed by her companion.
Six months later, it seems that the Keeper of the Seals has been heard. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice, the measure was pronounced 679 times by the courts and 509 bracelets were activated. “We are talking about gradual deployment, but it is extremely fast,” insists Isabelle Rome, senior official for gender equality at the Ministry of Justice, who recalls that it entered into force at the end of 2020 in five jurisdictions before d ” be extended at the start of 2021 to cover the entire territory. By way of comparison, 1,969 women are equipped with a serious danger telephone, which allows them to be put in immediate contact with the police, while the device has been in existence since 2014.
A bracelet in Paris, 44 in Val-de-Briey
“The electronic bracelet is one more tool available to magistrates,” continues Isabelle Rome. This makes it possible to adapt the decision according to the profile, the dangerousness, the configuration of the premises… ”Once the device has been triggered, the victim is given a box to geolocate them. The respondent receives a similar case and is equipped with an electronic bracelet.
The magistrate then establishes, depending on the file but also the geography of the place, an alert zone – between 1 and 10 km around the victim – and a pre-alert zone – between 2 and 20 km. If the abusive partner enters the pre-alert zone, he receives two calls to warn him. If he continues towards the alert zone, the victim of violence is directed to find safety and the police are notified.
On closer inspection, however, all jurisdictions are not entered in the same way in the same way. Thus, in Paris, while 50 serious danger telephones are in circulation, only one bracelet is active. In Hauts-de-Seine, barely two, and four in Seine-Saint-Denis.
“For us, this device was a cold shower,” confides Emmanuelle Bomba, who is in charge of the legal service at the Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis. There was a certain excitement around the bracelets, we expected a lot and we realize that nothing changes. Conversely, in the very small jurisdiction of Val-de-Briey, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, there are already 44 active, 30 in Montpellier, 27 in Charleville-Mezière or 19 in Pontoise. “What is interesting to note is that the development of anti-reconciliation bracelets in these jurisdictions has not been done to the detriment of the serious danger telephone, which increases or remains stable,” notes Isabelle Rome.
Geographical specificities
How to explain such differences? Probably primarily through work habits. In some jurisdictions, we recognize that it is more difficult to find our feet with this new tool, sometimes because of geographic specificities. In the most densely populated areas, the risk that the perpetrator and the victim live in a relatively close area makes the device more difficult to use. In Paris, for example, establishing an alert and pre-alert zone is particularly complex when you know that there is only 9 km between the Porte de la Chapelle and that of Orléans. “We had a lot of feedback from women who said they were very stressed because it sounded all the time,” notes Françoise Brié, general manager of the National Federation of Solidarity Women.
Still others refuse to be permanently geolocated, either because they have the feeling of being in permanent contact with their executioner, or because they fear that the latter will guess or deduce in which household they have found refuge or who hosts them. “The anti-rapprochement bracelet has proven itself, it is very effective even if certain adjustments are necessary”, nevertheless insists Françoise Brié, who recalls that for other women, on the other hand, it is the feeling of relief that dominates.
If for now, experience feedback is still relatively limited due to the novelty of this device, all professionals insist on the need to improve support for victims, both to free themselves from the psychological yoke and to exercise sometimes their companion or ex-companion, but also to understand the springs of such a tool. “What we have noticed is that where it works well, it is because there is a strong synergy between the police, justice and associations around this device, specifies Isabelle. Rome. As soon as the complaint is made, the device is mentioned and explained, and this continues at all stages of the procedure. “