by Tilly Goldman
Following
anti-femicide protests in Paris last week, France will be implementing drastic
changes to combat this growing issue. France has been accused of having a
culture of domestic violence, however, is this a fair judgement to make?
Similarly, why has this judgment been made?
Femicide
is the murder of women or girls in particular by a man on account of her
gender. There has been a focus in France on murders carried out by a current or
former partner following the 75 women killed in this manner so far in 2019.
This equates to approximately one new victim every three days. The most
worrying statistic is the fact that should the killings continue at the current
rate, 150 women will have died by the end of the year.
Announced in 2018 by the gender equality minister, Marlene Schiappa, the five new policies to combat domestic violence include a TV campaign, an online platform for reporting abuse, a GPS to help women locate shelters and safe houses, and increased funding for a domestic violence hotline. Despite initiating these changes, France has been deeply criticised for having not made these changes sooner. Activist groups such as the Facebook page @Femincide are adamant that these issues are ingrained in French society and the "patriarchal education system that gives men the right to possess and dispose of women and children". This demonstrates a call for change following the state''s inaction, despite increasing numbers of suspected murders.
It could be argued that France is being judged too harshly in light of Spain's success in reducing femicides this year to sixteen. The direct contrasts made between the ten thousand emergency telephones in Spain in comparison to only three thousand in France, as well as the significantly more widespread use of bracelets that alert authorities when the aggressor goes within a set distance of the victim, present France in a particularly negative light. This could be seen as unjust judgement as movements and changes in society only occur following a distinct trigger that spurs people's outrage and therefore action. Spain, for example, had a case in the 1990s when a 60 year old woman spoke out on television about her abusive former husband and was subsequently beaten and burned alive by him two weeks later. This, therefore, shows that Spain did not act preemptively, in the same way France has not; however, it is not criticised to the same extent because the triggering crisis occurred thirty years earlier.
I believe that France should be commended for finally enacting policies of protection in the hopes of galvanising this attitude of improvement as opposed to causing further resentment and thus inhibiting progress.
Announced in 2018 by the gender equality minister, Marlene Schiappa, the five new policies to combat domestic violence include a TV campaign, an online platform for reporting abuse, a GPS to help women locate shelters and safe houses, and increased funding for a domestic violence hotline. Despite initiating these changes, France has been deeply criticised for having not made these changes sooner. Activist groups such as the Facebook page @Femincide are adamant that these issues are ingrained in French society and the "patriarchal education system that gives men the right to possess and dispose of women and children". This demonstrates a call for change following the state''s inaction, despite increasing numbers of suspected murders.
It could be argued that France is being judged too harshly in light of Spain's success in reducing femicides this year to sixteen. The direct contrasts made between the ten thousand emergency telephones in Spain in comparison to only three thousand in France, as well as the significantly more widespread use of bracelets that alert authorities when the aggressor goes within a set distance of the victim, present France in a particularly negative light. This could be seen as unjust judgement as movements and changes in society only occur following a distinct trigger that spurs people's outrage and therefore action. Spain, for example, had a case in the 1990s when a 60 year old woman spoke out on television about her abusive former husband and was subsequently beaten and burned alive by him two weeks later. This, therefore, shows that Spain did not act preemptively, in the same way France has not; however, it is not criticised to the same extent because the triggering crisis occurred thirty years earlier.
I believe that France should be commended for finally enacting policies of protection in the hopes of galvanising this attitude of improvement as opposed to causing further resentment and thus inhibiting progress.
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