They will henceforth be considered as victims, and no longer as mere witnesses. In France, the approximately 400,000 children who each year witness domestic violence in their homes will now be better protected thanks to a government decree which comes into force on Tuesday 1 February.
From now on, even if they have not themselves been beaten, these children will be able to file a civil action during a trial and obtain compensation.
This is progress, judge Sandrine Bouchait, president of the National Union of Families of Femicide. But it is far from enough. ” Many specialists in psycho-trauma explain to us that the scenes these children witness are related to scenes of war, she explains to Navy of La Moissonniere, of the RFI France service. So finally we take them into consideration. »
Primary psychological care
For the president of the National Union of Feminicide Families, the decree is a first step, but it should be accompanied by other measures: “ Imperatively, already, it will be necessary a psychological follow-up for all these children, to avoid that they put themselves in a way of repetition. We know that the perpetrators of violence have very often been child witnesses or direct victims of violence against them. So psychological support is essential. »
” And it would also be necessary to systematize publicized visits in a neutral place, with professionals who will be there to ensure that the visit takes place correctly, that the dad, already, is not violent, that there is no no denigrating remarks towards the other parent… It is no longer possible today to give a violent father the right to visit, classic accommodation. »
The recognition of the status of victim of the child exposed to domestic violence, even if it is not directly targeted, was one of the recommendations of a report published in 2017 by theRegional observatory of violence against women in Ile-de-France.