Spanish
The French government published this Tuesday a circular in which it orders the prefects of the hundred French departments to provide care and accommodation to women victims of violence, coinciding with the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Signed by the Ministers of Equality, Aurore Bergé, and of the City and Housing, Vincent Jeanbrun, the circular urges facilitating access to housing for women victims of violence, prioritizing adults and their children who face domestic or intrafamilial violence.
This circular demands "immediate access to safe emergency accommodation, without assistance, even if the usual services are unavailable", the government highlighted.
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In statements to RMC radio and BFMTV television, Jeanbrun explained that the text "is based on a triple approach: protect, rehouse, rebuild", assuring women "a solution to leave their homes immediately". "I want housing to become a refuge tomorrow," he stated. According to the government, 30% of calls to the 115 emergency line are made by women. The shelter places specifically dedicated to victims of violence since 2017 went from 5,100 to more than 11,000, and the allocated budget increased by 30% since 2021, according to official data. Thousands of people demonstrated in several cities in France, despite the freezing temperatures last Saturday, against gender violence and to demand more budgetary support to combat it, in processions convened on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Protesters demonstrated against the rising trend of femicides in France, which exceeds an average of three femicide or attempted femicide victims per day, according to the annual report of the National Observatory of Violence Against Women published last Thursday. In 2024, 107 femicides, 270 attempted femicides, and 906 cases of harassment that led to suicide or attempted suicide were recorded, bringing the total to 1,283 victims, compared to 1,196 in 2023, according to the aforementioned report.
