in Bobigny, exiled minors find refuge in a house reserved for women

Clothes and shoes are piled up in the living room of the Women’s house (“women’s house” in French) of Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis). “It suits me, doesn’t it?” Batouly, mischievous, tries on orange bell bottom pants in front of the mirror. The association helping exiles Utopia 56, which manages the house, has just received donations. This Sunday evening in October, companions and residents are busy sorting the objects that are still usable from those that are not. The atmosphere is warm. A woman braids another’s hair in front of a Nollywood (Nigerian film industry) series on television. Another is tapping away on her cell phone, amusedly commenting on her neighbors’ fittings. In the kitchen, a peanut dish is simmering and gives off a comforting smell.

“Here, I feel good, it’s calm,” slips Batouly, former resident of the house. Opened in April 2021 by Utopia 56, in collaboration with Médecins sans frontières, the Women’s house hosts nine foreign women who have not yet succeeded in having their minority recognized. To benefit from social assistance for children (ASE), unaccompanied foreign minors (UMA, formerly called isolated minors) who arrive in France must have their minority recognized during an assessment carried out by departmental services.

Difficult minority recognition

According to a Senate report (PDF document) of 2021, 55% of those evaluated are rejected at the end of this process. In Paris, according to town hall estimates, only 33% of the 8,500 young people who will have completed an assessment by the end of 2023 will be recognized as minors.

Often, identity documents are not considered reliable to prove minority. Other times, “the evaluator considers that the inconsistencies in the young people’s story, their ‘maturity’ or their ‘morphology’ do not prove that they are minors”, continues Maëlle Vi Van, lawyer for foreigners’ rights. Young people are, for example, asked about the age of their aunts and uncles, and about their memories of an event like the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s a bit ridiculous for a young person who hasn’t been to school. And then in certain cultures, the definition of parent is not the same as in France and age is not an important factor”adds the lawyer.

Kady, former resident of the Women’s houseremembers an evaluation whose objective she didn’t even know. “It was long, I was tired. No one told me why I was being asked all these questions.” explains the 18-year-old Ivorian, sitting on the living room sofa. When these young people are not recognized as minors, they can appeal to a judge. “But it takes months.” explains Coline, 24, coordinator of the house. “While waiting for a new decision to be made, they are put back on the street.” Because when a young person is not recognized as a minor, he is de facto considered an adult and his situation is the responsibility of the State services. But adult care facilities are very often saturated.

“Like a roommate of ten young people”

Until July 2023, Paris town hall could accommodate minors in the hotel during their appeals, but this system ended this summer. “We offered the State a building to house young people whose appeal is currently being examined, but we were refused”, defends Dominique Versini, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of children’s rights and child protection. Another home, located in the 15th arrondissement, can accommodate 40 young people, but it will close its doors at the end of the year.

There Women’s house is therefore one of the rare places to take care of minors who file an appeal, and especially girls. In two years, she welcomed 32 “baby girls”, as she calls them, 17 of whom were later recognized as minors. They come from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Congo, Nigeria. Some arrived alone, others accompanied. “They can stay as long as they want, until they are taken care of by the ASE“, continues Coline, the coordinator. The shortest stay was three weeks, the longest a year.

“Our goal is to create a ‘safe space’, a secure place where they can rebuild themselves, rest, far from bad memories and prying eyes.”

Coline, coordinator of the “Women’s house”

at franceinfo

To ensure that your stay goes as smoothly as possible, the Women’s house has precise rules. No one asks the young women questions about their age or their background, so as not to make them relive the administration’s interrogations. The residents share household chores and shopping. During the week, they must respect a curfew at 9 p.m., reduced to midnight on weekends. No boy is allowed to stay overnight to respect the principle of non-mixing. “These are teenagers who come from different cultures, so obviously there can be disagreements, but it’s like a roommate of ten young people,” observes Coline.

Every night, a female member of the association stays up from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. “The night is calm, the women relax, watch series, chat… I am there to answer their requests”explains Evane, “night light” four nights a month.

Museum outings and rap concerts

Utopia 56 also offers sporting and cultural activities to exiles. Climbing, boxing, football or handball lessons reserved for women are offered. “We were able to take them to rap concerts, to the ice rink, to the museum, to visit Paris”recalls Coline. “I did drawing and painting workshops. An outing to the Eiffel Tower…”, illustrates Kady. Last July, a An equestrian camp was held in Occitanie and residents were able to stay outside Bobigny with supportive accommodation providers.

“At the beginning, here, I was shy, I stayed in my room. But the girls came to talk to me and little by little, I felt at ease.”

Kady, former Ivorian resident

at franceinfo

Workshops to raise awareness of sexuality and emotional life have also been established. Nurses and midwives are in regular contact with the young girls. In the house, residents have access to sanitary protection, makeup and condoms. The reappropriation of one’s body and sexuality is part of the residents’ reconstruction process.

A journey marked by sexual violence

Because most of the young girls who arrive in Bobigny have a history of sexual violence behind them. Only the former residents, who were more confident, agreed to talk about this subject. “I left Ivory Coast in 2021 because my father wanted to marry me by force”says Kady, sitting aside in a room. “I managed to reach Morocco with an aunt, but there was too much violence,” she delivers.

“I worked with a family in Morocco to pay for my crossing, but they were not good to me, they beat me. The man asked me things that I didn’t want to do.”

According to a 2022 report (PDF document) of the Primo Lévi Center, specialized in welcoming people who are victims of torture, women represent 50.5% of displaced people in the world and almost all of them have suffered sexual violence. In France, a third of exiled women say they have been victims of sexual violence, according to another study by Lancet Regional Health published in September.

After having collected enough money to cross the Mediterranean, Kady says she once again suffered the advances of smugglers. “When you are a girl, you are always in danger. Men always expect something from you, sexual things. There is so much violence along the way…”, she continues in a low voice. “That’s why single-sex is a relief, when you’ve experienced things with unkind men, you don’t want to have anything to do with them anymore.”

At his side, Batouly acquiesces. She recalls a moment that she “will never forget”. When she left Côte d’Ivoire to escape the violence of her father-in-law, she met a “lady” on the path that helped her to Algeria. They arrived in Oran, where “men kept [leur] ask for sexual things”, she recounts slowly. The lady who accompanied him ended her life. For Batouly, his suicide is a consequence of this sexist violence.

A future to build

To be able to rebuild herself after such a journey, Kady was followed for a year by a psychologist during her stay at the Women’s house. Today, like Batouly, she has been taken care of by the ASE and lives in a hotel in Noisy-le-Sec, 3 km from Bobigny. She has started a CAP in commerce and dreams of opening a clothing store. “While walking with my friends here, I met my boyfriend who works in a bakery. He is an MNA like me”she confides with a smile.

The other residents follow professional paths to become social workers, beauticians or even cooks. “We see them arriving all tired, and there are several revolutions”, observes Coline. “The first is the first time they laugh and take pleasure in taking care of themselves. The second is when they are taken care of by the ASE, they become hyper-talkative.” Kady also comes back very often to see those she considers to be “his family”. But other girls are waiting. According to deputy Dominique Versini, at the moment, “there is a very significant increase in the number of young people” who arrive every day in Paris.