Moments of collective jubilation, drunken parties, bodies in close proximity – the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games excite crowds but also create a climate conducive to excesses. In addition to an increased police presence, targeted measures to prevent sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) have been put in place. These include "safe zones," an idea borrowed from major music festivals, where these spaces, run by associations, have been appearing for several years.
Hélène Bidard, Communist deputy mayor of Paris in charge of gender equality, youth and popular education, describes a "feminist plan" for the Olympic Games. The priority: "to ensure that no victim is left without an appropriate response. It's a first for the Olympics, so we had to innovate and we did what we could." The City of Paris has released a budget of €85,000 to create a safe zone, accessible every day from 5 pm until the site closes, within the Games Terrace at the Hôtel de Ville (Paris's city hall), and spaces with more limited hours in 10 other fan zones in the city's various arrondissements.
Since its opening on July 20, about ten cases have been handled in the prefabricated building, slightly hidden from view on the Games Terrace, furnished with sofas, plants and an air-conditioning unit, and staffed by employees from partner associations (Elle's Imagine'nt and En Avant Toutes) and from the Paris Centre for Information on the Rights of Women and Families. "Half of them are about sexist comments received by women, who suffer greatly from this. The professionals quickly understand that this triggers their memories of sexual violence," explained Hélène Bidard on Friday, August 2. "The other half are people who have seen the safe zones announcement and come specifically to talk about their domestic violence. We didn't expect this, and it goes as far as immediate solutions for lodging."
Two cases have also been recorded by the Paris public prosecutor's office since the start of the trials on July 24: an indictment for "rape with administration of a substance and on a vulnerable person," involving a tourist in an Airbnb, and a report of another sexual assault of a tourist by a man posing as a cab driver.
While no victims or witnesses have turned up at La Villette's safe zone, which is located on a major thoroughfare in the park, some 50 people stop by every day. Karim Courty, head of La Villette's public relations department, shared on Friday: "It's mainly prevention that we do here. There are several associations, so depending on the person's problems, we can make initial contact and redirect them," said Hanitra (who did not wish to give her full name), an employee of L'Amicale du Nid 93, one of the nine associations running the space.
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