Since October, Ile-de-France hospitals have offered the possibility of filing a complaint on site, without having to go to the police station. “The idea is that emergencies are seen as a place that can provide solutions,” says a nurse.
The question is becoming a habit in the emergency rooms of Ile-de-France hospitals: “Have you ever been a victim of violence?” This is the first step in a system launched in October, which allows victims of domestic violence to file a complaint at the hospital, without going through a police station. This systematic identification aims to “offer the most appropriate help” to the victims, explains Marie Llorens, nurse at Tenon hospital, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. “The idea is that the people interviewed identify emergencies as the place that can provide solutions. And this, even if they refuse to tell us that they have been victims of violence.”
Caregivers have a direct telephone line to the police, who immediately dispatch a plainclothes patrol, every day, at any time. Objective: to take care of victims who would not go to the police station, for fear of reprisals or of not being heard. An apprehension that was addressed by a study carried out by the collective #NousToutes between 2019 and 2021 (PDF). Among the 700 testimonies collected, 68% mention a “trivialization of the facts” by the police, 55% a “refusal to take the complaint” or a “discouragement” to register it and 50% a “blame of the victim”. All while the police are legally obliged to receive these complaints.
In addition, this procedure is essential to initiate measures to protect a victim and their children. In France, in 2022, 118 women were killed by their spouse or ex-spouse, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. Among them, sixteen had filed a complaint. “A fortnight ago, one of our teams took a complaint from a victim who had fractured ribs”says commissioner Omar Merci. “These victims would escape us if there was not this partnership with the hospital. They would certainly not have come, or perhaps too late, to provide sufficiently solid evidence and testimony to a magistrate.”
“Avoiding just one victim would be enough”
The patrol intervenes at the hospital in civilian clothes, in order to remain discreet and establish a bond of trust. Because the injuries, however serious they may be, are not always enough to push victims to file a complaint against their attacker. “When we intervene at the hospital, the victims are very shocked. The person must not feel worse than before our arrival”explains Simon, investigator at the family protection brigade of the 20th arrondissement.
“If we consider that the person is not psychologically capable of retracing their entire journey, we will already collect the essentials, take photographs and a statement. We create a link and we will call them again later, when it is time to investigate further. investigations.”
Simon, policemanat franceinfo
If a victim refuses to file a complaint, their caregivers give them a medical certificate, which they can use whenever they wish. However, if they detect imminent danger for the person, they contact a magistrate directly by e-mail. “I wanted to offer a complete medical-social panel and not just the possibility of filing a complaint”insists Marie Llorens, responsible for the system.
“The ambition is to offer all the tools available to the hospital, such as access to care with psychologists, psychiatrists, but also to a social worker or associations.”
Marie Llorens, nurseat franceinfo
Tested in different establishments since 2021, this system has enabled the filing of 43 complaints, according to the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). At the 20th arrondissement police station, “we had twelve calls to manage”notes Omar Merci. This may not seem like much given the more than 200,000 victims of domestic violence recorded each year in France, but “even if this device made it possible to avoid a single victim, it would be enough”, considers the policeman.
“Coming out of domestic violence is a full-time job”
Filing a complaint is essential to combat domestic violence, but it is only one step in a costly journey. “We must inform women of what this filing of a complaint will trigger. It is an essential act to be recognized and protected by the justice system, but it will cause upheaval in daily life”, argues Françoise Brié, general director of the National Women’s Solidarity Federation (FNSF). Once the complaint has been registered, it is necessary to ensure the smooth running of the investigation and the legal consequences, “but it no longer depends on the hospital”.
Judicial investigation, removal measures, confrontation between the victim and her attacker… “Coming out of domestic violence is a full-time job”notes Sarah McGrath, who chairs the Women for Women France association.
“On the ground, the need is not only to know how to file a complaint.”
Sarah McGrath, activistat franceinfo
Women victims of domestic violence must also answer other questions: how to protect your children? Feed them ? Or sleep ? How not to lose their guard?
Added to a long and sometimes painful journey is uncertainty. Will the investigation be properly conducted and robust enough to lead to legal proceedings? Eight out of ten complaints regarding domestic violence are closed without follow-up, according to an investigation by the General Inspectorate of Justice, published in November 2019. Either due to lack of investigation, or because the offenses are not “sufficiently characterized”. In other words, because there is not enough evidence to lead to prosecutions.
“The AP-HP system, which is a very good thing, unfortunately does not guarantee that the environmental investigation, the interrogation of relatives, are systematically put in place”regrets lawyer Violaine de Filippis-Abate, author of Dismissed, women victims of violence before the courts. And to plead: “Legislative reform is needed to establish a list with the minimum number of things to do before dismissing a complaint.”
“The medical file, even if it is essential to the procedure, cannot be the only piece of the investigation.”
Violaine de Filippis-Abate, lawyerat franceinfo
Hence the hope that these complaints filed at the hospital will allow investigators to build more solid cases. “The judicial response is all the more severe the closer we are to the facts”argues Simon, the investigator from the family protection brigade. “HAS From the moment we quickly have the physical or psychological temporary total incapacities (TTI) and the victim’s declarations, these stages are already checked.” An essential first step, which makes it possible to speed up the neighborhood investigation, the hearings of close confidants, of neighbor witnesses, according to the police officer. Then, if the investigation is conclusive, to place a suspect in police custody.
“There remains low-intensity violence”
However, by the police’s own admission, the system has its limits. “We must keep in mind that we take care of people who go to hospital, which means that there has been serious violence, sometimes with fractures, hematomas importantcontextualizes Omar Merci. But there remains this low-intensity violence, such as shoving, slapping, psychological control, which does not lead to medical consultation or transport to hospital.”
This is why Marie Llorens wants to see the system extended to all hospital services, and beyond the AP-HP. “I remember a patient with a chronic illness who often came for visits. One day, we learned that she would not come because she had died at the hands of her partner.”, she says. A striking memory, which poses an inevitable question: how can we avoid missing other victims, who are nevertheless regularly monitored in hospital?
To answer this, the nurse believes that awareness of gender-based and sexual violence should be included in all training courses for all caregivers. And ask questions “Have you ever been a victim of violence?” a reflex throughout the medical profession
If you are a victim of domestic violence, or if you are worried about a member of your entourage, there is an anonymous listening service, 3919, available free of charge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is also possible to send a report on instant messaging. Other information is also available on the Service-public.fr website.