“FEMICIDE”: ULTIMATE VIOLENCE, BECOMING OF CHILDREN: A NECESSARY PROTOCOL

Abstract

For the Word Health Organisation, femicide is defined
as the murder of girls or women simply because of being
females.
In France it is currently estimated that a woman dies
each three days from violence of her partner or past-partner: it is so called “femicide”.
Children witnessing the murder (femicide or domestic
murder), in France to date did not benefit from a pedopsychiatric care of any kind. Furthermore, justice, helath
and child protection professionals were needy and unprepared.
On the initiative of the observatory of violence against
women of Seine Saint Denis, a multidisciplinary
reflexion has led to a systematic care protocol, experimental and pilot in France, since March 2014.
The aimof the protocol is to hospitalize under an X
name, every child being present on crime scene either victim or witness of femicide or domestic murder in SeineSaint Denis (Paris North Suburb). The hospitalisation
is made possible by a three days interim care order (up to
eight days) issued by a Public prosecutor in order entrusting Child Welfare Service and the pediatric service of
Robert Ballanger hospital, with restrained visit rights.
Child is taken in charge simultaneously by peo-psychiatrists and pediatricians. At the same time, the Child
Welfare Service and the Public prosecutor are in charge
of the modalities of support and exit of the child. To be
witness of a femicide, in a context of domestic violences
must be considered as the gravest trauma for a child
which exposes him to a risk of major psychopathologic
and developpemental complications adults especially as
without adapted care the family and professional support
dysfonctionne frequently. It is essential that this protocol
is applied in a national way, it is at present widened, in
in Seine-Saint Denis when the child victim is in a
serious condition.