Céline Evita: A Comprehensive Law Against Sexual Violence. Where Do We Stand?

Despite the progress made in recent years, from #MeToo and the French Grenelle on domestic violence to high-profile cases that have shaped public debate, such as the Mazan case, we continue to face a genuine culture of impunity. Today, 94% of complaints are still dismissed without further action, and victims encounter numerous obstacles throughout their journey. This demonstrates that, while many measures are already in place, they are not enough. Attitudes have not evolved as deeply as they should, and there is still a tremendous need for education, training and prevention.

That is precisely why we advocate for a comprehensive approach. The aim is to move beyond a patchwork of isolated measures and build a coherent, holistic response. Whenever a victim, a child or a vulnerable person encounters a barrier, it is a sign that the system has failed. We therefore propose a 360-degree approach: how can we better protect, support, train and prevent, so that every stakeholder is able to fully play their part?

This approach naturally involves the justice system and law enforcement agencies, but it also extends to schools, healthcare professionals, social workers, civil society organisations, businesses and community education actors. The objective is to ensure that all professionals who may come into contact with victims are trained to identify violence, listen appropriately and provide effective referrals.

One of the Coalition’s distinguishing features is that it addresses violence against women and violence against children together. Our starting point is the recognition that these forms of violence exist on a continuum and cannot be effectively addressed in isolation.

This is why we advocate for a genuine child-centred perspective: how can we build a society that better protects children, listens to their voices and promotes their well-being?

Finally, this comprehensive law seeks to leave no one behind. It takes into account situations of particular vulnerability, including those of persons with disabilities, migrant women, residents of rural areas and overseas territories. It also addresses dimensions that are too often overlooked, such as healthcare, trauma-informed support, housing and the workplace.

Ultimately, the comprehensive approach is based on a simple conviction: effectively combating sexist, sexual and child violence cannot rely solely on criminal justice responses. Prevention, training, protection, victim support and cultural change must all be pursued simultaneously in order to create a truly systemic response.

Could you introduce the Coalition and tell us about the more than two years of work undertaken by its nearly 200 member organisations to develop a package of 140 measures?

The Coalition was established in 2024 and initially brought together around twenty to thirty organisations, including the Fondation des Femmes, which leads the initiative, Osez le Féminisme!, Ensemble contre le Sexisme, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the National Collective for Women’s Rights (CNDF) and the Feminist Collective Against Rape (CFCV). Several of these organisations had long advocated for a comprehensive law, particularly drawing inspiration from the Spanish model.

The objective was to start from the expertise of frontline organisations and identify the main systemic failures that continue to allow violence to persist: barriers to justice, insufficient professional training, shortcomings in victim support and a lack of coordination among stakeholders.

As more organisations joined the initiative, the work became increasingly enriched. Associations specialising in support for survivors of sexual violence contributed expertise on the mechanisms of impunity and the judicial process. Child protection organisations and groups involved in the work of CIIVISE helped shape proposals relating to children’s rights and the recognition of children’s voices. Trade unions, particularly within the education sector, informed discussions on prevention and school-based measures. The French Family Planning Association (Planning Familial) and members of the EVARS collective contributed to the development of proposals on relationships, emotional and sexuality education. This diversity of expertise progressively led to a more comprehensive set of recommendations, ultimately resulting in the 140 measures.

To sustain this collective effort, we also established a structured governance model. A coordination group made up of around a dozen particularly engaged organisations oversees advocacy efforts, coordinates public communications, monitors legislative developments and maintains dialogue with parliamentarians, ministerial offices and public administrations. Alongside this, thematic working groups and regular plenary meetings enable all members to debate proposals, define strategic priorities and share responsibilities across different areas of work.

For the first time on this scale, the Coalition brought together feminist and child-rights movements. This alliance created an opportunity to connect complementary perspectives and develop proposals that address the protection of women and children together, rather than treating these issues separately.

As coordinator, my role is above all to nurture this collective intelligence by building bridges between different areas of expertise and ensuring the development of a shared advocacy platform. With more than 150 organisations involved, debate is inevitable, but we all share the same conviction: there is currently a unique opportunity to make meaningful progress on these issues. My role is to ensure that this diversity of voices is transformed into a strong and coherent message capable of influencing public decision-makers.

Following its review by the special committee, the bill incorporates 67 of the 140 measures proposed by the Coalition. How did the committee’s work unfold? What major advances do you welcome, and which issues do you believe remain insufficiently addressed?

First and foremost, it is important to note that the bill was unanimously adopted by the special committee. This is a significant political signal. While we did not secure all 140 measures proposed by the Coalition, several major advances have been achieved, giving us reason to remain engaged and optimistic about the next stages of the process.

On the justice front, we secured several concrete improvements: the creation of specialised criminal investigation units, the principle of a specialised justice system with dedicated magistrates and experts, and access to legal aid from the moment a complaint is filed. These are structural reforms that can significantly improve victims’ access to justice.

In terms of victim protection, extending protection orders beyond the context of intimate partner violence and removing the requirement to demonstrate immediate danger is a major victory. We also welcome the introduction of a chapter dedicated to technology-facilitated sexual violence. This was essential in addressing emerging forms of abuse, such as the non-consensual distribution of intimate images and AI-generated harmful content. The obligation to remove non-consensually shared intimate content within 48 hours constitutes an important step forward.

We also note significant progress in healthcare and support services, including the creation of multidisciplinary support centres in every department and full coverage of healthcare costs for victims, without upfront payment or the requirement to file a police complaint.

Finally, on issues relating to children and vulnerable groups, several measures have been maintained or strengthened, including the automatic appointment of a lawyer for children, stronger protections for migrant women who are victims of violence, and several provisions addressing incest.

That said, some areas remain insufficiently addressed. We are particularly concerned by the weakening of certain prevention measures, such as Article 30 on one-to-one safeguarding interviews in schools. In response to concerns about feasibility, the Coalition worked with parliamentarians to propose a phased implementation over five years, involving not only school nurses but also other trained volunteer staff. For us, the objective remains unchanged: ensuring that every child regularly has an opportunity to speak with a trusted adult. This is essential for identifying violence, particularly within the family, at an earlier stage.

We know that schools play a crucial role in disclosures: nearly 70% of incest cases are first reported to a member of school staff.

We also remain vigilant regarding access to justice for persons with disabilities, issues relating to parentage in cases of rape, and several child protection measures that have been deferred to other legislative texts.

Many organisations warn against adopting an ambitious law without providing the resources needed to implement it. Which measures do you believe are currently most vulnerable to budgetary constraints? And how can adequate funding be secured?

The measures most exposed to budgetary trade-offs are those requiring significant and sustainable investment. One example is the independent authority provided for under Article 2 of the bill. Its role would be to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the law, while overseeing the various actors and mechanisms established under this comprehensive framework. Yet we are currently operating in a context where discussions tend to focus on merging or reducing independent administrative bodies rather than creating new ones. Recent debates regarding the High Council for Equality, whose quality of work is widely recognised despite limited resources, illustrate this tension.

Another major issue concerns recruitment. The law provides for a greater specialisation of judicial and police responses, but this requires dedicated personnel: investigators specialised in sexual violence, magistrates, court clerks and other professionals needed to ensure these new structures operate effectively. While the government has announced new recruitment initiatives within the justice system, these were not specifically designed to support the implementation of this legislation.

The same applies to multidisciplinary support centres for victims. Their recognition in the law represents major progress, but an important question remains: what resources will be available to ensure they can be effectively rolled out across the entire country?

Several flagship measures will also entail direct costs for the state and are therefore likely to receive close scrutiny during budget negotiations. These include full healthcare coverage for victims, with no upfront costs, and universal legal aid. As these measures generate additional public expenditure, their implementation will depend heavily on government budgetary decisions.

To ensure that this law does not remain an ambition without resources, we have already begun working on its financing framework. Parliamentarians have included a multiannual budget allocation of €3 billion for the period 2027-2032 within the bill. The next step is to refine this work measure by measure.

Child protection is a particularly important area. While we know the cost of inaction, which CIIVISE estimates at between €9 and €10 billion, we still lack detailed evaluations of the investments required to implement effective policies. For this reason, the Coalition has commissioned experts to cost the proposed child protection measures and develop a more comprehensive budgetary framework.

Our goal is to enter discussions on the Finance Bill with robust, evidence-based and credible proposals.

We want to demonstrate that investing in prevention, protection and support for victims carries a far lower human and financial cost than failing to act.

The bill is currently being examined by the National Assembly before moving on to the Senate. In your view, what will be the key challenges in the next stages of the legislative process to preserve the ambition of this comprehensive law?

The next stages will be decisive. First, several setbacks introduced during parliamentary debates will need to be addressed by reinstating measures we consider to be red lines: the mandatory annual one-to-one interview with children, the suspension of parental authority for perpetrators of violence, and specific provisions for overseas territories and persons with disabilities.

We must also safeguard the advances secured in the special committee. At this stage, nothing is guaranteed, and important measures such as the specialisation of police and judicial responses, the removal of non-consensual intimate content and protections for migrant women could still be weakened during future debates.

It will also be essential to ensure that measures referred to other legislative texts are ultimately adopted. I am thinking in particular of the prohibition of shared custody arrangements in cases involving violence, integrity checks for professionals working with minors, and the abolition of the so-called “conjugal duty”. These provisions are fundamental and must not disappear along the way.

The Senate stage will be especially important, as the political balances and sensitivities surrounding these issues differ there. The challenge will therefore be to preserve the ambition of the bill, prevent it from being diluted, and secure a consensus that can endure through the joint parliamentary committee process. In short, the legislative battle is far from over.

Interview conducted by Diane Dussans, Project Officer at the RAJA-Danièle Marcovici Foundation.