In Belgium, it is known as “320, rue Haute”, the address of CHU Saint-Pierre, in Brussels. But its official name is CPVS or Center for the Support of Sexual Violence. “A model of its kind”, readily assure the leaders of French associations for the defense of victims, who would like to see this innovative experience generalized in France, where only the Maison des femmes, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), offers similar services. In Belgium, equivalent structures also exist in Ghent and Liège.
Inaugurated on November 9, 2017, the Brussels center is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and receives all victims of sexual violence, male or female. “Whether they file a complaint or decide not to”, specifies Doctor Christine Gilles. Forensic nurses, psychologists, supervising doctor: all of them, explains the head of the center, “Provide comprehensive care for a victim, which allows us both to discuss each case among ourselves, to understand what others think about it and to provide each other with human support, a very important dimension of work in a particularly difficult subject “.
500 victims received
The police officers, organized in mixed teams bringing together men and women, are all volunteers and follow, after selection, an in-depth training of fifteen days. Assigned to different services, even in the intervention unit, they carry out two to three hotlines per month, move to the CPVS in unmarked cars and civilian clothes when the victim wishes, to take his statement on the spot and exchange a first time with the medical staff and psychologists.
This modus operandi has shaken up habits. “This has allowed us to avoid the pitfall of a police officer who has not received the proper training or is uncomfortable with these questions and who will travel in uniform in a hospital where he will have to wait two hours “, explains Christine Gilles. Each year, the center thus treats some 500 victims, a range of care supplemented by the neighboring services of City Planning, the Brussels Family Planning, and CeMAViE, a medical center for victims of excision.
According to a report on the results of the first year of existence of the center, nearly 70% of the victims who were treated there decided to file a complaint. Of these, 20% lodged a complaint directly and 14% contacted a police service after an interview with the staff of the center. It is, according to the document, “An asset of the model: the fact that the forensic nurse explicitly mentions this possibility, that the mores inspector goes to the Center for the management of sexual violence and that forensic material is kept “.
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