What is “serious danger telephone”?

A 26-year-old man was shot dead on Wednesday after opening fire on police. He showed up at the home of his ex-partner who then called the police using her “serious danger telephone”.

In Noisy-le-Grand, in Seine-Saint-Denis, Wednesday February 7, a 26-year-old man died in an exchange of fire with the police. He went to the home of his ex-partner, armed with a “serious danger telephone”.

It is a simple telephone, distributed by decision of the public prosecutor to victims of domestic violence, with their agreement. For it to be distributed to them, three conditions must be met:
⦁ The victim must be in a situation of serious danger
⦁ She must no longer live with her attacker
⦁ This attacker must be the subject of a legal measure prohibiting him from entering into contact with her

The device was tested in 2009 and then generalized from 2014. There are now 5,500 phones of this type. About 4,000 have been awarded.

The operation is very simple, the person holding the phone pushes a button. This manipulation immediately triggers a call to an assistance center open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The tele-assistant then ensures that the person holding the phone is in danger, and that this is not a bad manipulation , then he alerts the police who intervene immediately thanks to the geolocation of the phone.

2,400 police interventions in 2022

And it works, if we are to believe Ernestine Ronai, the head of the Observatory of violence against women in Seine-Saint-Denis. She is the one who is at the origin of the “serious danger telephone”, she imagined it after a trip to Spain in 2007 where she observed a similar device. According to her, since the “serious danger telephone” was set up in Seine-Saint-Denis, around 500 women and 700 children have been rescued. Throughout France, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice, the police intervened more than 2,400 times in 2022 alone thanks to this telephone.

Can we still improve it? Here too, Ernestine Robai answers yes. The device is effective, but more needs to be distributed, according to her. There are 5,500 in France, but she estimates that more than 7,000 are needed. The problem, according to her, is the assessment of the danger which is insufficient. We must no longer believe women, she explains, as soon as a woman says she is afraid she must be given a “serious danger phone”.

Finally, women who do not dare to file a complaint, for fear of their partner or for fear of not being believed, cannot benefit from this protection. Despite this system, there were 118 feminicides in France in 2022, the latest figure consolidated by the Ministry of the Interior.