• The 13th arrondissement police station has a specific system for receiving victims of domestic violence.

  • Victims are cared for by agents from the local family protection brigade, in dedicated premises.

  • Friday, on the occasion of the international day for the elimination of violence against women, the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez, went there.

"Please designate the color corresponding to the reason for your visit", indicates a sign at the entrance to the police station in the 13th arrondissement.

"Code Orange", must announce the victims of domestic violence.

For victims of other offences, it is “code blue”.

For a little over two years, the Parisian police station has set up a specific system for receiving victims of domestic violence.

Friday, on the occasion of the international day for the elimination of violence against women, the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez went there.

The device aims to welcome “in all discretion”, and by specialized people, the victims of this violence.

It is only deployed during the day, during the opening hours of the police station.

At night, victims can be taken care of, but only via a traditional procedure.

Deployment of “code orange”

Anyone who enters the police station and presents themselves as a victim is first asked to go up to the first floor.

There, it is enough for the victim to pronounce the “orange code” for the agents to deploy their device.

One of them is then responsible for accompanying the victim to the 3rd floor of the building, in the premises of the local family protection brigade (BLPF).

Nine civil servants, including three police officers, psychologists and social workers, welcomed him.

An exclusively female team, "with the exception of the two leaders", nuances one of the agents.

An informal discussion and, often, an interview with the psychologist, precede the filing of a complaint.

The auditions do not take place in the

open space

but, in all discretion, in a dedicated room.

To get there, you have to go through another room, with an unusual decor in a police station.

Children's drawings plastered on the walls, poorly arranged plastic toys, and small sofas furnish a small games room.

The children of some victims, who would have had no choice but to come accompanied, can wait there while the complaint is filed.

Few places in emergency accommodation

"Some women refuse to lodge a complaint until they are sure of having a place in an emergency accommodation centre," explains the commissioner of the 13th arrondissement.

Others, after filing a complaint, no longer want to return home.

Finding a place sometimes takes “several hours of work” for the BLPF agents.

But this represents a "crucial issue", believe the agents of the judicial police.

In order not to leave them without a solution, “we tinkered a bit at the beginning, affirms the mayor of the borough, Jérôme Coumet.

Then it became institutionalized.

»

In the best cases, the agents find a place in one of the three centers with which they work, in Paris or in the inner suburbs.

Sometimes they call on the Samu social, “but there is a lot of waiting”.

It also happens that a hotel offers a room to help out.

As a last resort, a room in the police station, where there is a hygiene kit, can accommodate a victim.

“These situations of sheltering remain quite rare, nuance Alexia, social worker.

It happens once or twice a month.

»

In Paris, 1,400 police trained on domestic violence

Not all Parisian police stations have the same reception system, but “all provide a differentiated reception for victims of domestic violence” according to Loubna Atta, spokesperson for the police headquarters.

However, in 2021, only 1,400 police officers had been trained in the reception of victims of domestic violence in Paris, according to the latest figures from the spokesperson.

In the capital and the inner suburbs, the police headquarters has nearly twenty times more agents (27,000 agents).


The spokesperson recognizes that "all police officers must be trained on the subject since they can all be called upon to deal with a situation of domestic violence, even if it is not part of their daily duties".

If those who leave school have been made aware of the subject, the training of agents in post will continue in the months and years to come.

Paris

Paris: 25% increase in domestic violence since 2021

Policy

Gender-based violence: Thirty local elected officials sign a manifesto to "protect women victims"

  • Paris

  • Ile-de-France

  • Police

  • Violence against women

  • Domestic violence

  • Laurent Nunez