Medicare to Reimbursement for Chemical Shipment Detection Kits “in various departments”on an experimental basis and according to a schedule yet to be defined, Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced on Monday, November 25, in the midst of the rape trial in Mazan. This case of international resonance – where fifty-one men are accused of having raped a woman, Gisèle Pelicot, drugged by her husband – “it will mark a before and after”stated the head of Government on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
this file “it raises the still little-known issue of the presentation of chemical products and we all wait with great attention for the result of this trial”said Barnier, on the way to the Women’s House at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris. Chemical submission involves the administration of psychoactive substances to an individual, often a woman, without her knowledge, for purposes including assault and rape.
In October, the Government resumed a mission on the issue, entrusted to Senator Véronique Guillotin (European Democratic and Social Rally) and Deputy Sandrine Josso (Democratic Movement). The latter recommended that pharmacies be able to issue, upon medical prescription, to women who believe they have been drugged, a “detection kit” EITHER “morning after kit” with “jars to collect urine”useful directions and “all the steps to follow” to access the tests.
The fight against violence against women is a “a very long road”Barnier stressed. “We have to go further because this path is not finished. »
A women’s center in each department
The Prime Minister confirmed that the government would implement several measures to improve the fight against violence against women. It plans to provide each department with a women’s center by 2025 and expand the system that allows women victims of sexual violence to file a complaint in a hospital with an emergency or gynecology service, a measure announced on Monday by the tomorrow by the responsible Secretary of State. for equality between women and men, Salima Saa.
This system has already been the subject of 236 agreements with establishments. It will expand to 377 establishments by the end of next year, M announcedme Saa. In “all hospitals that have an emergency service and gynecology service”, us “you can file a complaint”explained the Secretary of State. It is up to the establishment to contact the police station or gendarmerie so that someone can attend. “take the complaint”.
METROme Saa also insisted on the importance of collecting evidence of sexual violence, which “It is absolutely key in the constitution of the crime of rape”. AND “For the judicial machinery to be launched, a complaint must be filed”He continued, highlighting the training effort in this area when welcoming victims. He gave the example of the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, which can store evidence for three years.
Increase in the budget dedicated to gender equality
In order to fight against “new scourge” of chemical submission, as described by Mme Saa, the government also intends to support an information campaign born after the Mazan rape trial and launched this week by the M’endors pas association, co-founded by the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot and the Center’s listening platform on the facilitated attacks. by substances (Crafts). This platform “I can answer you, advise you and tell you which laboratory [se rendre]what to do with it [ses] hair, blood test, urine »M explained.me Saa on Franceinfo, depending on who there will be “a before and after of Mazán”like him “There was a before and after #metoo”.
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Finally, universal emergency aid, implemented at the end of 2023 and designed to help victims of domestic violence and support them when they leave their home, will see its budget increased: from 13 million euros in the finance bill (PLF ) from 2024 to 20 million euros in the PLF 2025 –, according to Mme Saa. Since its implementation, this measure has benefited 33,000 people. This aid, which can vary from 240 euros to 1,330 euros depending on the situation, is 800 euros on average. “We managed to obtain a 10% increase in the budget” dedicated to gender equality, which increased to 85.1 million euros (+ 7.7 million euros) in the 2025 PLF, argued the Secretary of State.
However, the announcement of government measures should not be enough to respond to the demands of associations that defend women’s rights, which ask for a total budget of 2.6 billion euros per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace the current legislation that they consider “fragmented and incomplete”. According to the latest official figures, 93 women were victims of marital feminicide in 2023. More than 110,000 victims of sexual violence – the vast majority of whom were women (85%) – were registered by law enforcement during the same year. According to the feminist collective #NousToutes, 122 women have been murdered since the beginning of the year.
