Authorities should routinely notify victims of domestic violence when their violent spouse is released from prison, says a new government decree which comes into effect on Tuesday.
According to the decree, taken on December 24, the judicial authority must notify the victim of the release from detention of the violent spouse, whether he is awaiting trial or already sentenced. She must also “expressly provide” from “question the necessity” surveillance measures for the spouse and protection for the victim.
A month before the publication of the decree, a woman had been killed in Epinay-sur-Seine (Seine-Saint-Denis) by her ex-spouse released from prison earlier than she thought, following a remission of sentence. She dreaded her release, according to her relatives, and had not been informed.
Among the measures envisaged in the decree, the practical details of which should be specified in February: a ban on contacting the victim or appearing in certain places, the possibility of granting the victim a “serious danger telephone”, a device allowing to urgently request the intervention of the police, or to pronounce an anti-reconciliation bracelet measure for the aggressor. It is also regarding“avoid any break in surveillance”, for example between judicial review and incarceration.
“A key moment” according to the chancellery
The judicial authority will also have to ensure that the anti-reconciliation bracelet, withdrawn from a man in the event of incarceration, is well rested in the event of permission to leave or at the time of his release if the measure is still in progress.
“This decree marks a new step forward in the protection of victims of domestic violence, because the release of a violent spouse is a key moment, which must be an opportunity to question the protection measures put in place and to inform the victims, said the Chancellery.
As of January 24, 479 men were fitted with stranglehold bracelets, and according to the latest figures (from the end of December), around 2,200 women are fitted with “serious danger phones”. According to a report from the Ministry of the Interior, 146 women were victims of feminicide in 2019, and 102 in 2020. Femicide is the final stage of violence suffered by more than 200,000 women per year.
