This is a measure which already existed in three Parisian hospitals and which is now generalized to all AP-HP establishments: victims of domestic violence will be able, if they wish, to file a complaint directly at the hospital. , at the time of their care.
This is an important step forward in the care of victims of domestic violence. They will now be able to file a complaint directly when they go to the hospital.
A press release from Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, jointly signed with the Paris Police Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice details: “If a victim wishes to file a complaint, the doctor contacts the police using a dedicated telephone line.. The measure has been in effect since yesterday, Wednesday October 4.
A device tested for three years in three Parisian hospitals
This measure has been tested in three Parisian hospitals since October 2020. These are the emergency reception services of the Saint-Antoine (Paris 12), Tenon (Paris 20) and Henri-Mondor AP-HP (Créteil) hospitals. .
A measure which allowed the filing of a complaint of “more than thirty victims” in three years, therefore. Since yesterday, these are the victims going to the emergency rooms of hospitals located in four different departments with Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne ( 75, 92, 93 and 94) who will have access to this device.
There are a total of emergency departments at the following hospitals:
- Hôtel-Dieu (Paris 4);
- Lariboisière (Paris 10);
- Saint-Louis (Paris 11);
- Saint-Antoine (Paris 12);
- Pitié-Salpêtrière (Paris 13);
- Cochin – Port-Royal (Paris 14) ;
- European Georges-Pompidou (Paris 15);
- Bichat-Claude Bernard (Paris 18);
- Tenon (Paris 20) ;
- Ambroise-Paré (Boulogne-Billancourt in 92);
- Antoine-Béclère (Clamart in 92);
- Beaujon (Clichy in 92);
- Louis Mourier (Colombes in 92);
- Avicenna (Bobigny in 93);
- Jean-Verdier (Bondy in 93);
- Bicêtre (Kremlin-Bicêtre in 94);
- Henri-Mondor (Créteil in 94);
- Necker-Enfants Malades (Paris 15);
- Armand-Trousseau (Paris 12);
- Robert-Debré (Paris 19).
How will this take place in practice?
According to the press release, “concretely, the emergency doctor who takes care of a patient who has come to consult for a trauma asks him or her if he or she wishes to file a complaint if his or her consultation is linked to violence suffered in a marital context. If the patient wishes to file a complaint, the doctor contacts the police via a dedicated telephone line and agrees with the person he or she is talking about on the terms of filing a complaint. The hearing takes place within the emergency reception service, in a room made available by the hospital and guaranteeing the confidentiality of discussions.
However, the system does not abandon victims who choose not to file a complaint.
“If the victim does not wish to file a complaint, she is referred to one of the AP-HP women’s centers which offers multidisciplinary support for victims of domestic violence.. Finally, let us recall the latest figures from the government concerning domestic violence. “In 2021, 122 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner; 23 men were killed by their partner or ex-partner and 14 minor children died, killed by one of their parents in a context of violence within the couple”.
A system which is intended to be generalized throughout Europe
Since February 2022, a similar system has existed at the Lille University Hospital. The CHU and the Lille public prosecutor’s office have in fact signed an agreement aimed at better protecting and supporting victims of domestic violence. With the victim’s agreement, doctors can directly make a report to the courts.
One of the measures of the Grenelle on domestic violence, in September 2019, provides that the filing of a complaint at the hospital becomes generalized throughout the territory: speech would be freed more easily with a doctor who can encourage the victim to file a complaint against his attacker. This system benefited from the Council of Europe’s European “Crystal Scale” prize, which rewards innovative judicial practices within European judicial institutions.
