If the government’s promises are kept, there should soon be 6,500 spaces to house women and children who are victims of violence.

The State will create one thousand additional accommodation places for victims of domestic violence besides the 1,000 already planned previously, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Wednesday, September 2nd, during a visit to the Women’s House of Saint-Denis.

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“We are going to unblock a budget to finance 1,000 additional spaces,” the Prime Minister told staff members of this establishment and local elected representatives. “This brings us to 6,500 spaces (in total) for these women and children,” the Minister Delegate for Equality between Women and Men, Élisabeth Moreno, said.

While some associations are questioning the reality of the 1,000 spaces already announced last year, Elisabeth Moreno assured that these “have been created.”

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“And I am going to do everything I can to ensure that the other 1,000 are done and that the mapping of these new accommodations is fair, whether in rural, urban or overseas areas,” she added.

Criticism has also surrounded the funding: the call for projects foresees an average cost of €25 per day and per space, while care “would require an expenditure of 40 to 50 euros,” recently criticised in a report by senators Arnaud Bazin and Éric Bocquet. “25 euros, I don’t intend to stop here,” guaranteed Élisabeth Moreno.

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“We are working on this. It is not accommodating women in just any conditions,” she insisted. Élisabeth Moreno also stated that they would open 15 new centres for the care of perpetrators of domestic violence in 2020 and another 15 in 2021.

During his visit, Jean Castex also urged victims to “come out of the shadows.” “We have to tell women: don’t stay in this situation, come to us, come to the public service to file a complaint, we will also take care of you,” he said.