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Reporting violence

Ile-de-France: Victims of domestic violence can file a complaint directly with the hospital

Publié le 18 octobre 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

An agreement was signed on October 4, 2023, between the Paris Police Prefecture, Assistance publique-Hôpitals de Paris (AP-HP), and the Paris, Nanterre, Bobigny, and Créteil prosecutors’ offices to allow victims of domestic violence to file a complaint with all the AP-HP emergency services. If the patient wishes, the emergency physician contacts the police on a dedicated telephone line.

Image 1Crédits: motortion - stock.adobe.com

The system set up within the PA-HP emergency services aims to:

improve reception and medical, social and legal support for victims of domestic violence;
and supporting the detection and reporting of violence in health facilities.

When a patient goes to the emergency department for a trauma (other than a traffic accident), the emergency doctor asks whether the patient wants to file a complaint after establishing that the visit is related to domestic violence.

If the person wants to file a complaint, the doctor contacts the police through a dedicated telephone line and agrees with the person about how to file the complaint. The victim’s hearing takes place in the emergency department, in a room where the confidentiality of the exchanges is guaranteed.

Please note

in October 2020, agreements were signed to test this complaint mechanism in the emergency services of the Saint-Antoine hospitals (Paris 12^e), Tenon (Paris 20^e) and Henri-Mondor (Créteil). This has resulted in more than 30 victims being able to file complaints. The system is now generalized to all PA-HP emergency services, present in the departments of Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne.

What happens if a victim doesn't want to file a complaint?

If a domestic violence survivor does not want to file a complaint, the emergency doctor tells her that she can go to one of the AP-HP women’s homes. These sites offer multidisciplinary support for victims. They can benefit from:

medical consultations;
psychological support;
legal and judicial assistance;
group activities such as speech groups, psycho-physical workshops, self-esteem activities...

Furthermore, if a health professional believes that violence is an immediate threat to the life of an adult victim and that the latter is unable to protect herself, he or she may report the situation to the public prosecutor, in accordance with the provisions of the law of 30 July 2020 to protect victims of domestic violence. In this case, he must endeavor to obtain the consent of the victim; and if it is impossible to obtain this consent, he must inform the victim of the report made to the public prosecutor.

Please note

the Ministry of Justice reported in June 2023 that new reception and support systems for victims of domestic violence are being deployed throughout the country, including in health facilities. These mechanisms must bring together in a single place all the actors responsible for supporting victims in their judicial journey (complaint, forensic examinations, care...).

The Ministry also indicated that 300 agreements have been signed or are being signed between hospitals, prosecutors' offices and police and gendarmerie services to allow complaints to be filed outside police stations and gendarmeries (in Angers, Chartres, Colmar...).