Paris: France unveiled on Monday new measures to combat violence against women by their partners or ex-partners, seeking to toughen up the law as concerns mount over the number of women killed in the country.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made the announcements on the UN-backed International Day for Eliminating Violence against Women, two days after tens of thousands of people took to the streets across France in a show of solidarity.
Growing anger over the failures in Europe and globally to make progress ending the horrendous annual toll has pressured governments to begin to take action, though activists warned that far more needs to be done.
Expressing hope that the plan would prove an “electric shock”, Philippe said the measures would seek to broaden the definition of violence, including how harassment can lead to suicide. Since the start of 2019, at least 117 women have been killed by their partner or former partner in France, according to a case-by-case study by AFP based on media reports.
The figure shows no improving trend — last year, 121 women died in what are increasing termed femicides, to underscore the fact the victims were killed because they were females.
An additional 213,000 women in France are victims of physical and or sexual violence on the part of their partner or ex-partner, according to the latest official figures.
The announcements by Philippe focussed on ending what he described as “absurdities” and “dysfunctional aspects” in the law to ensure that women would be better protected.
The notion of psychological “entrapment” would now be written into the law as this can also lead to violence, he told reporters in Paris.
And in a measure that has been widely called for, Philippe said that the rules covering medical confidentiality would be changed to make it easier for doctors to signal to the authorities when a person is at risk of violence.
— AFP
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