50% of femicides occur in rural areas, while only 30% of the population lives there. “There are not more violent people,” explains Mandana Etemad, “but what this figure tells us is that these situations of violence, as they involve people who find less help nearby, are more likely to end in femicide.”
This observation has led the association Solidarité Femmes Beaujolais to engage closely with women and children in vulnerable situations in its territory, to provide resources as close as possible to those in need.
Another area of action is awareness-raising. “Domestic violence always follows psychological violence, which settles in insidiously,” explains the co-director. “Psychological violence is hard to identify, and we have learned to downplay it.” This is the challenge of the work done by Solidarité Femmes Beaujolais, to encourage everyone to question these issues together.
“Today, everyone knows that when someone has a heart attack, there are appropriate actions to take, and even without knowing them, we know we must act, pick up the phone to ask for help,” shares Mandana Etemad. “It’s the same for a situation of domestic violence. We need to learn to recognize the signs and intervene.”
With this conviction, the association offers “first aid posture” training sessions open to everyone, lasting 2.5 hours each month, and now also one or two-day sessions, for which the price is free. The goal is to empower citizens against domestic violence in their territory. It also aims to reach businesses, municipalities, and go everywhere because domestic violence affects all ages, social backgrounds, urban as well as rural areas.
“There needs to be mobilization in rural areas by the residents of those areas,” insists the co-director of Solidarité Femmes Beaujolais. “In rural areas, we have a lot of solidarity networks, initiatives, and resources, and we truly believe that it is through the engagement of citizens, alongside professionals, in support of associations, that real change can happen.”
Solidarité Femmes Beaujolais also works in schools with 6-11 year-olds and trains professionals, social workers, and social assistants on the subject of domestic violence.
