The Family Allowance Fund can give or lend between 240 euros and more than 1,330 euros depending on the case, in order to help victims cope with “urgent expenses in the event of shelter and separation”.
Support… that will sometimes have to be repaid. Emergency aid for victims of domestic violence, voted on in February in Parliament, can be paid since December 1st. In 2022, 244,000 people were victims of domestic violence – the vast majority of them women –, i.e. 15% more than the previous year. Because thewhen the victims flee the violent partner, “They will leave with a small bundle under their arm and they will need to have access to resources”, justified Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women’s Foundation, on franceinfo, November 20. Here is what you need to know about this help.
An amount calculated depending on the situation
This money paid by the Family Allowance Fund (CAF) should enable victims of domestic violence to (physical, psychological, etc.) “to meet their urgent expenses in the event of sheltering and separation, while waiting to find lasting solutions, access existing assistance and benefit from social support”specifies the government in a press release.
Depending on the beneficiary’s resources, aid is granted in the form of a donation, for the most deprived victims, or an interest-free loan, repayment of which begins two years after allocation. In this case, the reimbursement can be charged to the spouse if he or she is found guilty of violence by the courts. Otherwise, it will be up to the recipient of the aid to repay it.
The aid, which cannot be granted more than once a year, ranges from 240 euros to more than 1,330 euros depending on the case. It is based on the amount of the RSA (607.75 euros per month for a single person), and is modulated according to the victim’s resources and their needs (taking into account for example the presence and number of children dependent), according to a scale specified in a decree published on Saturday in the Official Journal. It must be paid in one go, within three to five days after the request made to the CAF.
Aid conditional on presentation of proof
The person who wishes to be a beneficiary must complete the dedicated form (found on the CAF website or in an agency) and prove their situation using proof less than 12 months old. This may be a protection order issued by the family affairs judge, a complaint filed or a report sent to the public prosecutor. The perpetrator of the violence can be the spouse, the common-law partner, the civil partnership partner but also an ex, specifies the CAF. “It is not necessary that the victim lives or has lived with the perpetrator”she specifies.
Associations providing assistance to victims of violence wanted a follow-up certificate from them to be sufficient to benefit from this assistance, believing that complaints or protection orders are too long procedures given the urgency encountered by women. wishing to flee the family home. The government did not win their case. On the other hand, he promised the examination in the National Assembly of a bill establishing a protection order “immediate”in order to shorten the delivery times for this measure from six days to twenty-four hours.