Parliament definitively adopted Thursday, by a final unanimous vote of the Senate, a text creating emergency financial support to help victims of domestic violence to leave the home.
As soon as it is applied, this text "will immediately change lives", underlined the Minister responsible for Equality between women and men, Isabelle Rome. The law must enter into force "no later than nine months after its promulgation", specifies the text.
Carried by the centrist senator from the North Valérie Létard, social worker by profession, the text was supplemented by a government amendment voted in the National Assembly.
The "universal emergency aid" can thus be paid in the form of a donation, and not just an interest-free loan as the Senate had initially voted. "It is unthinkable that the victim finds himself in the position of a debtor (...) because of the actions he takes to protect himself," said the minister.
This financial support will be conditional on a protection order, the filing of a complaint or a report addressed to the public prosecutor. At least part of it must be paid within three days.
The aid scale, modulated according to needs, must be specified by decree. The objective is to allow victims to seek shelter as quickly as possible, without financial dependence.
"The amounts and the methods must be up to the needs", declared Ms. Létard to the attention of the Minister.
When the aid is granted in the form of a loan, its reimbursement will be the responsibility of the person found guilty of violence if necessary, with an additional penalty of "obligation to reimburse".
The text also provides for the establishment of a multi-annual law on funding for the fight against violence against women, "before July 1, 2023, then every five years".
02/16/2023 12:36:50 - Paris (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
