In France, the presentation of the Guide for Companies – Responding to Violence Against Women took place the 4th of July at the Ministry of Economics and Finance.
It gathered 75 participants, from companies having taken part in the CARVE project, specialized NGOs, public bodies and other stakeholders interested in this topic.
Vincent Baholet, as Secretary General of the leading organization FACE, introduced the workshop explaining how the CARVE project represents a breakthrough innovation in the field of fighting violence against women. To involve companies, a major actor of the social and economic world, widens the scope of actions that can help prevent and fight against gender violence. His intervention was followed by Simon Miclet’s presentation of the final deliverable of the project: Responding to Violence Against Women – Guide for Companies. He explained the process of conceiving and editing the Guide, and gave examples of Best Practices adopted by companies.
Two roundtables were organized afterwards:
- “Acting against gender violence within companies” was the opportunity to hear about testimonies and feedbacks of companies that have undertaken measures and actions in this field. It is the case of the Raja Foundation, and the Kering Foundation, which has built a partnership with the NGO Fédération Nationale Solidarité Femmes to implement the “Charter to prevent and combat Domestic Violence” and train the staff. The Controller general of armed forces Bernard Ducateau also presented the THEMIS Counseling Unit to deal with cases of harassment, discriminations and sexual violence within the French Army. Representatives of NGOs (La CLEF, Hubertine Auclert Centre) also explained the ways they support companies willing to get involved.
- “Promoting the professional integration of women victims of violence” allowed companies to speak about programs, and NGOs about their support and counsel work with victims. Emilie Bethery and Stéphane Grange from the insurance company Axa presented the Elle’s Angels program of skill-based sponsorship with five NGOs specialized in assisting and supporting women victims of violence. Françoise Brié from l’Escale and Séverine Lemière from FIT, une femme, un toit, also presented the work of their associations in recognizing that violence against women holds back employment. It includes a Guide headed to actors of employment, based on the thought and reflections of a working group made of NGOs, trade-unions, specialized institutions, researchers, etc.
As a conclusion, Dr Muriel Salmona, reminded the importance of having a wide approach when it comes to fighting violence against women, that gathers all stakeholders, both from the public and the private sectors.
Find the practical guide and poster here.
