France/Les petites communes de l'Eure vont lutter contre les violences intrafamiliales (In French only)

It's an alarming figure in the Eure region. In 2023, almost half of all crimes against the physical integrity of individuals (AVIP) in the Normandy department - including "physical violence, threats of violence and sexual violence" - concerned violence within the family. Exactly 3,044 incidents were recorded out of a total of 6,451, i.e. 82 victims a day, most of them women, and most of them in rural areas. These figures are set to rise by 26.2% between 2022 and 2023.

In the département, several facilities already exist to welcome victims of domestic violence. Our first priority is to welcome victims," says Eure Prefect Simon Babre. In all police stations, we have trained officers who specialize in receiving victims of domestic violence, so that both the reception and then the quality of the investigation are of the highest possible quality, to have results in terms of repression of the perpetrators. "

The Eure-Seine hospital in Évreux also has a CASEVA unit. Composed of forensic doctors to characterize injuries, and psychologists and general practitioners who cooperate to take charge of a victim, "CASEVA is also at the forefront of childcare, with a Mélanie room. This room, specially designed for children with toys and cuddly toys, cameras and other recording systems camouflaged behind one-way glass, is the perfect place for a child's safety.This room, specially designed for children with toys and cuddly toys, cameras and other recording systems camouflaged behind one-way glass, will help trained professionals to deal with children and provide them with support to better describe the acts of which they have been victims.

"When you're a local councillor, you're not necessarily aware of what exists (in terms of prevention and action against domestic violence).However, Bernard Aubry, the mayor of Harcourt, a commune of around 1,000 inhabitants some 30 km northwest of Évreux, testifies. In an attempt to provide an additional response to this lack of knowledge of the tools in place, the Prefect of Eure signed a partnership with the department's association of rural mayors, in order to apply the ERRE (Élu Rural Relais de l'Égalité) program in the area.

We're going to send the letter co-signed by the prefect and myself to all the mayors of the communes in the area," explains Laurence Bussière, president of the Association des maires ruraux de l'Eure. This letter will be used to invite elected members of municipal councils to receive training and become ERRE referents. "These ERRE referents, of whom there are currently around 1,000 in France, are tasked with setting up awareness-raising and prevention initiatives, and redirecting victims of violence to appropriate local structures or associations likely to help them, in order to better promote their rights and combat the violence perpetrated.

To stem the tide of violence, the Eure prefecture is also looking into the issue of addictive behavior, including within the home. The overall prevention policy against domestic violence in our department really has to include the prevention of addictions such as alcohol and drugs," explains Simon Babre. Family units seem to be getting out of control a lot, or at least taking on greater proportions, with physical violence and injuries among victims, in alcoholic or drug-induced contexts. "

These behaviors are more often observed in families who are far from employment, or culturally or socially isolated. In Harcourt on Friday February 16 and Saturday February 17, a local association is taking up the cause. ATCPH, which stands for Association Tourisme, Culture, Patrimoine Harcourt, is organizing two days of workshops, conferences and debates to raise the issue of domestic violence with elected representatives and the general public. They will be followed, on Saturday afternoon, by a performance of the show "Enfance heureuse" by actress Antonella Questa.

Empathy workshops to revive vigilance

"Culture brings a welcome openness in the face of self-centeredness, which is often responsible for inappropriate and unacceptable behavior," asserts Annie Gorju of ATCPH. The artist, who draws on psychoanalyst Alice Miller's theory of black pedagogy, has imagined a tale in which the issues of obedience, self-expressionissance, expressing one's emotions and listening to oneself and others are called into question in order to rethink the place of everyone, especially children, within the family. In the run-up to her show, she runs two workshops with elected representatives and members of associations to enhance their empathy skills. In the form of a game, she stimulates participants' attention, listening and vigilance, always with the aim of reminding them of the importance of empathy as a first response.

Another highlight of the event was a conference on the fight against conflict, led by Rachida Laoufi-Saber. Rachida Laoufi-Saber, a delegate for the ERRE program, gave the floor to local elected representatives and associations, reviewed existing processes and pathways, and provided reassurance to help people speak out. A denunciation alone will never lead to a conviction," reminds a participant in the room, "but it does serve as a warning so that we can then take charge" of a household in difficulty to prevent the situation from degenerating. "What we want is not to have to call 17, because that means the person is in danger, but to act upstream. "

Source: www.msn.com/fr-fr/