France on Monday announced a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape case that has shocked the public.
Equality Minister Salima Saa unveiled a series of initiatives two days after tens of thousands of people held new demonstrations in French cities against violence against women, with protesters labeling government actions as ‘window-dressing’.
The case of Dominique Pelicot has sparked outrage in France. The 71-year-old is on trial for raping and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife for almost a decade in the village of Mazan. He is in the dock with 50 other men, many of whom have denied the charges.
There will be “one before Mazan, and one after Mazan, just as there was before and after #MeToo,” Saa said during an interview with broadcaster Franceinfo.
But advocates are calling for more far-reaching measures, including a special budget of 2.6 billion euros ($2.7 billion) and a stronger legal framework to tackle the problem.
The government will expand the network of hospitals where victims can report an incident from 236 to 377 by the end of 2025, Saa said, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
“A woman will be able to file a complaint at all hospitals with an emergency room and a gynecological service,” she said.
– Focus on drugs –
Saa also announced an awareness campaign on the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, which she called “a new plague”.
As part of the campaign, a helpline can “provide answers and advice and tell you which laboratory to go to and what to do with your hair, blood and urine tests,” Saa said.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier said on Monday that France will, on a trial basis, reimburse the purchase of drug detection kits in several areas of France, although he did not provide a timeline for their implementation.
The emergency aid budget to help victims of domestic violence leave their homes will increase from €13 million to €20 million in 2025, a measure that has benefited 33,000 people since its introduction at the end of 2023.
“We managed to achieve a 10 percent increase in the budget for gender equality, for a total amount of 85.1 million euros,” said Saa.
But that number falls far short of demands from women’s rights groups, which are calling for 2.6 billion euros and a “comprehensive legal framework” to replace current legislation that advocates say is “fragmented and incomplete.”
During his first term as president, Emmanuel Macron pledged to work to eradicate violence against women, a message Saa reiterated, calling it the “great cause” of his presidency.
In 2023, the police registered more than 110,000 victims of sexual violence – 85 percent of whom were women.
According to the feminist group NousToutes (We All Women), 122 women have been murdered since the beginning of the year.
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