On lockdown with an abuser: When staying home brings threat of violence
| Paris
Jill Bourdais has run a bi-weekly support group for survivors of domestic violence since 2011, and usually receives around five calls per week from her clients.听
But since France鈥檚 coronavirus lockdown began, the Paris-based clinical psychologist has gotten fewer calls and emails than ever. She says she hasn鈥檛 received a single call since March 27.
鈥淚f [women] are not currently living with their abuser and they鈥檙e not calling me, maybe there鈥檚 no real damage,鈥� says Ms. Bourdais. 鈥淏ut if they鈥檙e not calling me and they live with an abuser; it鈥檚 too risky 鈥� they have much less freedom to reach out.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Stay-at-home orders are meant to keep people safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. But how do you protect people who live with their abusers?
The phenomenon that Ms. Bourdais observed is not unique. Many rights groups, as well as France鈥檚 free domestic abuse hotline, have noted a reduction in the number of calls they receive since France went into lockdown on March 17 鈥� showing how difficult it is for victims to reach out for advice or resources when trapped inside with their aggressors. Meanwhile, the number of couples who've reached the breaking point has gone up; French police recorded a 36% jump in reports of domestic abuse in Paris during the first week and a 32% rise elsewhere in France.
It鈥檚 a trend seen across Europe since lockdowns began. Britain鈥檚 National Domestic Abuse helpline has seen a 25% rise in calls and online reporting, while Spain鈥檚 emergency number for domestic violence noted 18% more calls during the first two weeks of lockdown than the same period one month prior. The numbers prompted United Nations Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres to : 鈥淚 urge all governments to put women鈥檚 safety first as they respond to the pandemic.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall听for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
The lockdown has highlighted the vulnerability of many women in France 鈥撎齱here in recent years, one woman has been killed due to domestic violence every three days. And as a result, it could change just how high a priority domestic abuse is for the state.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a real awareness since the #MeToo movement that this type of violence is not a private affair, that it鈥檚 unacceptable and a real societal problem,鈥� says Olivia Mons, the spokesperson for victims鈥� rights group France Victimes. 鈥淏ut the state still needs to work on better coordination between different actors and invest more money to help victims 鈥� it鈥檚 a very good investment for the victim and the state.鈥�
A serious problem even before the pandemic
France has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in Europe, according to EU figures from 2017. Each year, around 200,000 women suffer physical or sexual abuse by a partner. In 2019, 149 women died at the hands of their partners 鈥� up from 121 the year before 鈥� and 950 violent partners were held in police custody.
Responding to increasing public pressure, the French government unveiled a nationwide action plan, dubbed 鈥淕renelle,鈥� against domestic violence in September 2019, promising more wide-scale use of electronic bracelets for offenders and the creation of 1,000 places in听shelters for victims.
And amid the pandemic lockdown,听the government ramped up its efforts further. Following on the heels of a Spanish program where women can speak the code words 鈥渕ask 19鈥� in pharmacies to indicate they have suffered domestic abuse, the French government announced that French women should utilize their local pharmacies for similar reporting.
The French government will also open around 20 pop-up counseling centers in stores across Paris and in the northern city of Lille, where women can drop in while shopping. It has designated 1 million euros to help domestic abuse organizations, and said it will pay for up to 20,000 hotel rooms for victims.
But the measures haven鈥檛 gone far enough, say campaigners. In 2018, France鈥檚 High Council for Gender Equality said that 11,000 additional places in shelters were in fact needed, and rights groups say that at least 500 million euros must be dedicated to the cause.
Many anti-domestic abuse groups say too often, it鈥檚 the woman who must change her daily life to accommodate her abuser, and not the other way around. The Observatory for Violence Against Women for the Seine-Saint-Denis region, just outside Paris, announced at the end of March that it would work with a local tribunal to finance hotel rooms during the lockdown period 鈥� not for female victims, but for their violent offenders.
鈥淲hen women leave for a hotel, often with their children, they don鈥檛 have their beds, their toys, they can鈥檛 cook. It鈥檚 unbearable,鈥� says Ernestine Ronai, the director of the Observatory for Violence Against Women for the Seine-Saint-Denis region. 鈥淭he violent man is the one who absolutely needs to leave.鈥�
Campaigners also say that听the French justice system favors听offenders instead of victims of abuse. A November 2019 report by weekly Le Journal du Dimanche showed that officials did not follow through on domestic violence complaints 80% of the time.
El茅onore, a Toulouse-based woman who asked that her last name not be printed, says she was raped by her boyfriend in Paris in September 2016. With the help of friends, she finally reported the incident to police, only to have the situation turned around on her. The officer who took her case pressured El茅onore to sign a main courante, which records an offense but doesn鈥檛 take the complaint any further. He convinced her that doing otherwise would have grave consequences for her partner.
鈥淭hey put the blame on me, saying that my boyfriend was just expressing desire and pleasure to see me,鈥� says El茅onore, whose boyfriend had just returned from a long trip when the event took place. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 allowed to have any emotions about it.鈥�
El茅onore tried to take her case to another police station, but despite her efforts the case was never pursued and her boyfriend never received any punishment.
Neighbors and police
As French people are increasingly confined to their homes during lockdown, solidarity between neighbors has taken on greater importance 鈥� whether it鈥檚 to lend a helping hand or simply wave across an apartment complex. For domestic violence victims, neighbors can save lives.
Kate LeBlanc says she called the police last August when she heard a couple yelling in a neighboring building, in the Paris suburb of Puteaux. Although听the police showed up in five minutes, Ms. LeBlanc says she鈥檚 not sure if they would be as reactive now, amid the pressures of the current lockdown situation. More police have been tasked to patrol the streets for potential rule-breakers, and answering house calls entails a public health risk.
鈥淚 would call the police as quickly now, but I鈥檓 not sure what kind of response I would get,鈥� says Ms. LeBlanc. 鈥淚 could speculate that it wouldn鈥檛 be as quick.鈥�
Ms. Mons, of France Victimes, says that even if the police are under 鈥渆xtreme pressure,鈥� victims shouldn鈥檛 hesitate to contact them about domestic abuse incidents. France Victimes has trained police forces in how to handle complaints and the official directive is to be especially proactive when it comes to such domestic violence.
France must go further, she says, to dedicate resources and money to help victims 鈥� in order to take the burden off the health and social services sectors now and in the future. But she adds that the #MeToo movement, coupled with France鈥檚 Grenelle action plan, have better prepared France to handle domestic abuse complaints during the lockdown period, which could potentially last beyond these early days in confinement.
It is news such as this that makes El茅onore, in Toulouse, consider whether she should reopen her rape case. But this time, she says, she would bring a lawsuit against not only the officer who dismissed her case the second time back in 2017, but against the French state.
鈥淚n my head, it鈥檚 still a possibility but I haven鈥檛 made up my mind about it,鈥� says El茅onore. 鈥淚 do have hope that things have changed since then.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall听for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
