“Freedom with a capital F,” emphasizes Elisabeth Liotard. “Freedom for women, for those who have experienced trauma, and also for the employees in the association, with a strong focus on ensuring they have the power to act and a voice in the organization.”
VIFFIL – SOS Femmes provides a telephone support service with anonymous listening, as a relay to 39 19, which can be contacted not only by victims but also by their entourage, healthcare professionals, justice workers, and social workers.
Walk-in services are also available without appointment in several district town halls in Lyon, as well as in Villeurbanne and Saint Fons, in the Rhône region.
The association has been offering a unique service in France since 2018, a 24/7 on-call system, 365 days a year, in collaboration with police, gendarmerie, and the public prosecutor's office to ensure the safety of women at risk of femicide. In 2023, VIFFIL was called upon for 248 women. 82 women and 92 children were placed in safety.
Among the other services provided by VIFFIL:
- A dispersed accommodation system, allowing women to maintain a degree of autonomy while being supported, for a period of 6 to 18 months.
- A space for children and adolescents, with psychotherapists and social workers.
- A training center for professionals. “The values of the association are to spread awareness, so that as many people as possible know that violence exists,” insists Elisabeth Liotard.
“We are a laboratory,” says the director. “We identify needs long before the law recognizes, for example, children as victims or when supporting the entourage, or even when implementing our on-call system. We always refocus on the question of victims, which helps us to constantly remember why we are here and how we act.”
