- In Saint-Denis, the number of procedures opened for domestic violence increased by 15% between 2018 and 2019.
- Significant awareness-raising work has been put in place to facilitate access to the complaint.
- In 2019, according to figures sent by the prefecture, the rate of elucidation in domestic violence cases exceeded 41% in Saint-Denis, i.e. 10 points more than in 2018.
Barely seated behind his desk, Philippe Cisé apologizes. This Wednesday, the six other police officers from the local family protection brigade (BLPF) of Saint-Denis will not arrive until late morning. “Yesterday's police custody ended very late. For six hours, these officials specializing in domestic violence interviewed a man suspected of physical and psychological violence as well as rape of his wife. In the premises of the brigade - two rooms as dilapidated as they are cramped on the first floor of the police station - the defendant ended up acknowledging some of the facts while trying to minimize them. "It is frequent in this kind of file, assures the young lieutenant, at the head of the group for five months. Sentences like "we argue as in all couples", "I just pushed him", "she pushed me to the end" come up regularly. The man, presented to an investigating judge, was placed in pre-trial detention.
In this municipality, procedures for domestic violence have increased in recent years: 466 in 2019 *. That is 15% more than in 2018. The divisional commissioner Laurent Mercier, at the head of the police station, certainly sees this as an effect of the freedom of speech but also that of awareness-raising work within his teams. Women are encouraged to file complaints rather than file a handrail, even if that does not preclude further investigation. In May 2019, a weekly permanence was set up at the Maison des Femmes to support the most vulnerable in their efforts. If he knows that awkward sentences still deter some from pushing the door of a police station, he deplores the stigmatization of the work of the police by certain feminist associations. “Progress can still be made, undeniably. We are working on it. But it is illusory to believe that the police can make its revolution in two years when machismo and patriarchy have existed in our society since forever. "
"We have to prioritize"
But how do you investigate these cases, which usually take place behind closed doors? How can we collect enough information to materialize this violence when victims have taken care to conceal their ordeal? At the BLPF, every day begins in the same way: each new file is carefully studied to assess the urgency of the situation. Background, family context, described facts ... "We are forced to prioritize, there are only seven of us, we cannot do otherwise", deplores Philippe Cisé while recognizing a "great responsibility" for this task which falls to him. In addition to complaints - two to three each day in Saint-Denis - reports from relatives on the dedicated number - 3919 - or on the Internet platform as well as investigations opened after a police intervention following a call from a neighbor (600 in 2019).
“The majority report violence that has lasted for months, often years. It sometimes reaches an unprecedented level, ”insists commander-in-chief Denis Leroux, who daily reviews all the complaints from the police station in order to distribute them among the various services. And to cite the example of this 23-year-old woman, originally from Bangladesh, who presented herself at the beginning of the week after having been burned by her husband at breast level with an embers as a "sign of belonging". If there are as many stories as there are complaints, many are based on a click. One blow stronger than the other, during pregnancy or in front of children.
Medico-judicial unit and testimonies of relatives
The complainants are systematically sent to a medico-judicial unit to report physical, but also psychological, violence. "When we have no direct witnesses, we will look for people to whom they confided, we hear the children, the neighbors, the colleagues", specifies Marine, arrived at the brigade last year. Sometimes the secret is so well kept that we have to multiply the tracks.
Like this woman who, after months of hesitation, filed a complaint against her husband: she accuses him of having hit her last year with a crowbar. Investigators found traces of her hospitalization, but for a completely different reason: when she was admitted, she said that she had fallen on the stairs. "We did research on the lesions to prove that they were not compatible with what was said at the time, we managed to find the testimony of a psychologist to whom she confided," said the chief. of the brigade, while recognizing that in the absence of material elements or confessions, certain investigations are closed without further action.
It is also up to them to disentangle the true from the false. Some accusations prove to be exaggerated or even totally unfounded, often in the context of a conflictual divorce. In 2019, according to figures sent by the prefecture, the rate of elucidation in domestic violence cases exceeded 41% in Saint-Denis, i.e. 10 points more than in 2018.
"There is a lot of self-censorship"
All professionals say it, domestic violence does not spare any segment of society but in Saint-Denis the precariousness of part of the population - the poverty rate is 35.4% against 14.3% in mainland France - causes additional difficulties. Despite the work of associations, some unemployed women with no diploma fear leaving the family home. Others, in an irregular situation or speaking poor French do not dare to push the door of the police station. "There is a lot of self-censorship," confirms Lieutenant Cise. Public servants can no longer count the number of times they explained that conjugal duty did not exist. “Often they tell us their story and are not aware of all the violence they suffer. Physical, psychological, economic… ”, specifies Héloïse **, assigned to Saint-Denis six months ago.
Do they sometimes feel frustrated or even discouraged when some women refuse to participate in the investigation or withdraw their complaints? If he knows that awareness can be sinuous, the head of the brigade sometimes admits having the impression of helping some "against their will". Like this woman, under a protection order, who recently called the police station to find out if she could go on weekends with her ex-boyfriend. Or this other, injured in the face by the jet of a glass bottle, who lied at each hearing even when her companion recognized the violence. "We reassure ourselves by saying that the investigations are continuing and that we are acting for them, whether they are aware of it or not," smiles Marine.
* Figures given by the prefecture.
** The first name was changed at the request of the person concerned.
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