Violence against women in France 'worrying', European report shows

One European woman out of three is victim of physical or sexual violence in her life, according to a report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published on Wednesday.  The situation in France is "worrying", a women's rights campaigner  tells RFI.

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Violence against women, March 2014 survey.

France is one of 13 countries where 20-29 per cent of women report physical or sexual violence by a partner, the report shows, lower than four with over 30 per cent but higher than 17 others.

Françoise Brié the vice-president of women's rights group, FNSF, says the level of violence against women in France is worrying.

"One woman dies every two days from domestic violences in our country," she told RFI after the report's publication. "There is still a lot to do, especially on attitudes. France is very much a patriarchal society."

Brié also points out couples' relationships are still based on inequality in France.

Inequality between men and women was confirmed in a study published Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (Insee), showing three women out of four earn a less than their partner.

But Brié France's bad showing in the European statistics could be partly because more women dare to report violence, thanks to a recent publicity campaign on this matter.

"The economic crisis is probably another aggravating factor because of the lack of autonomy and the lack of women's financial resources," she comments.

According to Brié, alcoholism is not a major cause of violence but another aggravating factor in a crisis situation.