Only 30% of the victims’ relatives were supported by an association in 2022. However, in 57% of cases, the children were at home at the time of the incident, according to the France Victimes Federation.
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Legal actions following the death, autopsy of the body, access to the home of the deceased or even psychological assistance for relatives and children: the families of victims of femicide are often destitute and isolated after the tragedy. The figures prove it, since only 30% of relatives of victims of femicide were supported by an association in 2022, according to a study unveiled on Friday March 8 by franceinfo.
The National Federation of Victims of Femicides (FNVF) created a practical guide last November, available online for the Brittany region, both to help relatives in their efforts and to improve the reception of families by professionals (police officers, doctors, gendarmes, etc.). This approach will be extended throughout France, since a national version will be available in the coming months, downloadable from the internet and distributed to professionals.
Sylvaine Grévin, president of the National Federation of Victims of Femicides, has worked on this guide since 2021. She explains this approach to franceinfo, after having herself been confronted with the death of her sister, Bénédicte Belair, in 2017. She recalls relentlessly the importance “to offer the help that families really need” And “to provide the financial means” to stop the morbid count of feminicides.
franceinfo: Who will have access to this guide?
Sylvaine Grévin, president of the National Federation of Victims of Femicides: First of all, there will be a link on the website of the prefecture of each region and I have an appointment on March 21 for distribution to the national police. The police will also have it. This guide is the national version of a guide that already exists for the Brittany region, on which we worked voluntarily and collectively for two years with the help of the Rennes communications agency Concept Image. The cover page was validated by the families supported by the FNVF.
It is based on the needs that we analyzed through our field work at the FNVF, and it is the first of its kind in Europe. What is important after the announcement of the death is to offer the help that the families really need. For example, associations dedicated to domestic violence will not be able to help them at that time because it is unfortunately too late. Our goal is that this guide can be in the hands of the first people families see when they learn of the death of their relative. So these are the police or doctors. However, you should know that some families learn of the woman’s death through the press.
This guide therefore saves time, a valuable resource for families at this time?
Indeed, one of the problems is the average time taken for a prosecution to contact the France Victime network which can support families. This period is between three weeks to a month after the death, which is far too long in our opinion.
“This is why the guide exists: it allows us to create links and immediately provide families with information to direct them towards existing institutions.”
Sylvaine Grévin, president of the National Federation of Victims of Femicidesat franceinfo
This guide is an immediate response but it is also a long-term resource. Unfortunately, not every family arrives immediately after the death and their needs must be met as well. Some families are still learning, two or three years after the death. They may need to change lawyers or encounter a problem regarding child custody or inheritance.
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What are you asking of the public authorities?
I have a lot to say, especially since the start of 2024! At the FNVF, because this is also part of our work, we have recorded since the start of the year 26 marital feminicides and 14 women dead in the marital sphere. It’s absolutely deafening. And the silence regarding the number of feminicides is unprecedented since the start of the year.
We say that we must above all work on listening to victims and taking care of them. We must protect them. For example, if the development of “serious danger telephones” is a good measure, very often the perpetrator of the violence is not equipped with an anti-reconciliation bracelet. This means that protection is placed on the victim. We ask that perpetrators of domestic violence who have been given a suspended sentence, for example, be able to systematically wear an anti-reconciliation bracelet. We know today that it is with the author’s agreement that the bracelet is worn. However, the prosecution has the means to place the author in detention if he refuses.
We are asking for compulsory training for police officers because it is today on a voluntary basis for police officers already on duty. Also, we think that magistrates need to be more trained in the concept of coercive control, for example.
The issue is also the financial means implemented by the public authorities?
It is certain that as long as we do not have sufficient financial means, we will not be able to achieve this. Even with all the good will implemented, after a while, there are people who must be paid, in particular the social workers who are essential. If we take the example of a victim of femicide in February: a neighbor contacted the police for acts of violence, the police arrived in the middle of the night but did not find any injuries and the woman said nothing. Except that a few hours later, after the police left, she was killed by her partner. To avoid this, we ask that social workers be able to systematically accompany the police officers in intervention because we know that it is complicated for the police.