Originally from the United Kingdom and implemented in France since 2020, this system allows a person who does not feel safe on the street to find refuge in a partner establishment.
Le Figaro Bordeaux
Where is Angela? A benign sentence, but which can allow you to quickly get to safety in the event of harassment. After the success of the device in Bordeaux, two other municipalities of Gironde, Mérignac and Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, adopted the mechanism “Ask for Angelato combat sexual and gender-based violence. Anyone bothered or harassed can go to a partner business and find help there, simply by saying the question “Where is Angela?“.
In Bordeaux, it has now been a year since “Ask for Angelawas set up by the environmental municipality, in partnership with the Gironde prefecture and the Departmental Directorate of Public Security (DDSP). “In one year, we have doubled the number of establishments participating in this system“, rejoices Amine Smihi, deputy mayor in charge of public tranquility, security and prevention. To be recognizable, partner businesses are stamped with a pink and purple sticker.
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One hundred requests for a year in Bordeaux
According to government figures,eight out of ten young women are afraid to go out alone at night“, and “most women have been harassed or followed on the street and on public transport“. The device “Ask for Angela“, set up in France since 2020, therefore aims to “create a safe and united network of places (bars, hotels, shops) with the capacity to assist and support people who find themselves in a situation of harassment“. The experience has been extended to many businesses in Bordeaux, from hairdressers to shopping centres. “And we are in the process of extending this to all our public establishments: museums, libraries, sports halls, etc.», specifies Amine Smihi, so that «“Ask Angela” enters into the common law of the prevention policies of the city of Bordeaux“.
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For a year, however, the use of this system has remained quite low, with less than a hundred requests, “which is rather good news», Underlines the deputy. “This reassures us about the future of our city, we are not yet at an absolute emergency stage.“. For Amine Smihi, “this device comes at the right time because it avoids the establishment and establishment of a culture of insecurity“.
Keolis, operator of the TBM (Transports Bordeaux Métropole) network, has also rolled out, in conjunction with the city of Bordeaux, a variation of “Ask for Angela”. In January 2022, two stations and 10 tram trains were equipped with specific emergency call terminals. Now there are 10 stations and 20 trains. “It is still too early to judge the impact“, However, specifies the operator. But an online form to make the report a posteriori of an aggression in transport has a lot of “hit“. Through this, Keolis has already received 72 testimonials this year.
Extension of the system in Gironde
Inspired by what is done in Bordeaux and in transport, two municipalities of Bordeaux Métropole, Mérignac and Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, have just installed in their turn “Ask for Angela“. “We did it a little differently, starting with municipal services“, However, specifies Arnaud Durand, coordinator of the local council for security and crime prevention in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles. So far, 16 officers have been trained in “understand the reception of victims as well as possible, to welcome them well, not to judge them, and above all to guide them», if necessary, to a reception center for victims. In 2023, it will be the turn of associative and commercial partners. By the end of 2023, the city hopes to have trained and educated around sixty people.
The experience also begins in Mérignac, the second largest town in the conurbation. “Unfortunately, we have more and more people who “decompensate”“, emphasizes Marie Récalde, deputy mayor of Mérignac, about cases of harassment and sexist and sexual violence. “Figures from the police and justice departments show things are getting worse.“The device has”received a very favorable reception from traders“, specifies the elected official. If it is not only aimed at women, they are often the first victims. The training will start at the beginning of January for the staff of the shops who wish to join “Ask for Angela“. The Mérignac cinema is one of the first five partner establishments.
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Delighted that more and more municipalities are taking up this system, Amine Smihi underlines a positive effect in Bordeaux. “It was found that “Ask for Angela” was increasingly a criterion in the choice of establishments attended by young girls.A business where employees are trained in dealing with cases of harassment therefore reassures customers, by encouraging “a sense of security“.