Violence against women: a day to find out where to get information and find help in Toulouse
This Friday, November 25, on the occasion of the International Day for the fight against violence against women, an ephemeral platform brought together associations and institutions, square Charles de Gaulle in Toulouse to inform and support the victims.
With their police uniform, Adeline and Isabelle did not go unnoticed in the ephemeral space installed in the square Charles de Gaulle, in the heart of Toulouse, this Friday, November 25. Like all the actors installed behind their stand, they are there to inform and explain their actions in the fight against violence against women. “At the Haute-Garonne Family Protection House, we have three main missions. First, prevention in schools on social networks, harassment and addictions. We also work with seniors and people with disabilities,” says Adeline. “Our second mission is to monitor domestic and domestic violence. Every day, we have access to the reports of our colleagues in the field and we systematically call back the people who dialed 17 in order to take stock and check their situation. Often, tongues are loosened and we then direct the victims to the investigation services to file a complaint and to the associative partners”, explains Isabelle in her turn. Adeline takes the floor again to detail their third mission: “We carry out hearings of minors who are victims of sexual and family violence. It is very important,” she adds. Right next to them, there is the stand of their colleagues from the National Police who are carrying out similar actions in Toulouse.
Valérie, a volunteer with the Federation of Women for Europe, is very interested in the speech of the two gendarmes. “Their actions help us insofar as we know that behind a complaint, the gendarmerie ensures an active follow-up. We are in a more human approach vis-à-vis these women victims of violence, who one time out of ten, do not dare to speak ”.
Opposite the two gendarmes, we meet the medical examiner Marion who represents the medico-judicial unit of the Toulouse University Hospital. “On a daily basis, we receive victims of violence and in particular women who have experienced domestic or sexual violence. We are there to see the damage and assess the consequences. From there, we write certificates, ”says the doctor. “If the legitimate person wants to file a complaint, the fact of having seen a doctor is part of the evidence,” she adds.
For the lawyers Marie and Elsa who ensure the permanence of the bar of Toulouse, it was necessary to be there this November 25, “On these important causes, we must show that we are a profession to which the victims can speak. There is a legal framework that protects women, including the protection order. We must encourage them to file a complaint when the situation is serious and tell them that they will be accompanied and supported, ”explain the black blouses.
“The beginning Since the year, there have already been 102 feminicides. Although the subject has been decreed a national cause, things are not moving fast enough, ”regrets Aurélie, of the Olympe de Gouges association.
“More and more women are coming to us,” confirms Françoise de l’Apiaf. “Our association has been in place for more than 40 years in Toulouse. We would rather not be there, it meant that the evil was eradicated, or, it is far from the case”.