A demonstration against violence against women in Paris.

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MERYL CURTAT / SIPA

Good news was scarce in 2020, but some is notable.

The number of women killed by their spouse or ex-companion is decreasing in 2020 after a sharp increase the previous year, but it is "too early" to see a lasting trend, underline the associations.

The ultimate stage in the violence suffered by more than 200,000 women per year, feminicides experienced a sharp increase in 2019, with 146 deaths recorded, 25 more than in 2018. According to elements gathered by AFP, their number should not be expected. however not exceed a hundred in 2020, a first since 2006, when the government began to identify them.

88 feminicides in 2020 according to AFP

According to a count established by AFP, at least 88 women were killed by their companion or ex-companion in 2020, a drop of about 40% compared to 2019. This provisional assessment could however include a few cases of more, certain cases remaining in abeyance for lack of elements, others having not been revealed by the authorities.

The news in recent months has been marked by resounding cases of murders of women in a conjugal setting: Cécile, killed in December near Paris by her ex-husband, despite the filing of dozens of complaints;

Vanessa, shot in March in front of her two daughters by her partner from whom she was in the process of separating;

Sandy, mother of four, burned alive in November in a car by her partner.

A collective counted 100 feminicides in 2020

In 2019 and 2020, AFP mobilized its journalists across France to study in detail with the authorities (police, gendarmerie, prosecution, etc.) cases of suspected feminicides from the associative count of the collective "Feminicides by companion or ex" .

This collective, which for several years in the local press has listed each new suspected case, counted 100 cases in 2020 (against 152 in 2019).

In accordance with its verification standards, AFP dismissed a dozen cases because the autopsy revealed a natural death, the investigation showed that the woman and her murderer had never had an intimate relationship, or the couple had announced in a joint letter his intention to die together.

A "substantial drop" according to the government

Asked by AFP, the Ministry of Justice confirmed a "substantial drop" in feminicides in 2020 compared to 2019, without revealing a figure.

A sign that this scourge has become major in society, the Chancellery asked for the first time last year for "systematic information feedback" to the general prosecution for each domestic homicide, in order to have "a more precise monitoring" of these murders and "assess the impact of the Grenelle measures".

After a strong mobilization of associations, a "Grenelle" to fight against domestic violence had resulted at the end of 2019 in around forty measures, among which the deployment of anti-reunification bracelets for violent spouses or ex-spouses or "lessons learned" »(Retex) between professionals concerned after each feminicide.

In 2020, "many devices have been put in place or have experienced an acceleration", pleaded the Chancellery, referring to the bracelets (17 pronounced including 8 active on January 18) or the telephone great danger (1,200 distributed at the end of 2020).

Containment at risk

The associations expect more, asking for example that the measure which makes it possible to requisition the firearms of a violent spouse from the first complaint is really applied.

Gun murders represent nearly a third of feminicides.

The coronavirus epidemic and its periods of confinement have also highlighted the importance of the violence suffered by women and children in their homes, boosting reports of these facts.

According to AFP data, feminicides have not particularly declined during confinements.

Cautious associations

During confinement, "there was a strong political discourse against intra-family violence, the police systematically moved and cases were given priority in the courts", recalls Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women's Foundation , believing that these interim measures have made it possible to “save lives”.

It is "too early to record a downward trend because it may go up next year", reacted the co-founder of #Noustoutes Caroline De Haas, estimating that with "still nearly 100 dead, we can not be satisfied ".

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  • Society

  • Violence against women

  • Feminicide

  • Women