Street harassment: the controversial government flyer


From this Tuesday, five million flyers will be distributed by the police to fight against street harassment. An unconvincing choice.





By Nathan Joubioux for Le Point

From this Tuesday, 5 million flyers will be distributed against street harassment by the government. (illustrative image)
 © FRANCOIS DESTOC / MAXPPP / PHOTOPQR/LE TELEGRAMME/MAXPPP

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AT the question, what should be done against street harassment, the government has found its answer: distribute, from this Tuesday, May 30 and until the end of the summer, 5 million flyers. A choice that annoys the victims or witnesses of these attacks, while 80% of women claim to be afraid of going home alone at night, indicates the High Council for Equality between Women and Men (HCE), reported by RMC. The flyers will be distributed “everywhere in France, during patrols in public transport, in the street…” indicated Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior.

On these flyers will be indicated the actions to adopt when a person is the victim or witness of an attack. For the victims, they are advised to make “noise” and to alert “the people around”. It is then necessary to get “safe to warn the police as soon as possible”. Finally, the objective of the flyer is also to encourage the filing of a complaint. “File a complaint at a police station, a gendarmerie brigade or any other suitable place”, is it also indicated.

Witnesses also targeted

In a second part, the flyer is addressed to witnesses of the harassment. During the attack, it is advisable to intervene or create a diversion, “if it does not put you in danger”, and to alert the police. Then, you have to help “the victim to get to safety” and report to the police to “describe the facts and the attackers” in order to present them, possibly, photos and videos.

A flyer and multiple reproaches

An action that struggles to convince. “I wondered if I should laugh or cry about it,” reacted Sandrine Bouchait, president of the National Union of Feminicide Families, on RMC. “This flyer puts the blame on the victim. We will tell her that if she had done this or that, it would not have happened, ”she continues.

READ ALSOStreet harassment, the daily life of women, even young womenFor its part, the association Stop street harassment regrets, among other things, that the flyers are only intended for victims and witnesses. “However, if we consider that it will be distributed to everyone, why not have a message empowering the aggressors? asks the association on Twitter. She also criticizes the fact that the flyers do not explain “how to recognize an attack”. “Not all assaults are necessarily spectacular, and often people who are not concerned do not know how to recognize a case of street harassment, for example,” concludes the association.

The invitation to file a complaint is also criticized, as by Pauline, questioned by RMC: “It happened to me with a friend when I returned from New Year’s Eve to be attacked. We filed a complaint the next day and they told us: There are no blows, nothing can be done. »






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