Women for Women France has launched France’s first Multilingual Online Resource Centre (MORC) for all people confronted with domestic abuse, of French and non-French nationalities.
The Multilingual Online Resource Centre was the result of WFWF’s consultations with survivors of diverse economic and administrative situations, and from diverse countries of origin. It was revealed that the primary need of victims in France was access to clear, reliable, up to date, and actionable information.
In examining the varying coercive control tactics employed by abusers use on their partners or ex-partners, the MORC contains 90 practical guides are grouped into 7 themes:
- Understanding and identifying domestic abuse
- Money, housing, independence
- Separation, divorce, child custody
- Security and protection orders
- Physical, sexual and mental health
- Residency rights in France
- Police and justice
The guides are practical and contain a simple structure:
- What are your rights?
- What do you need to do to access those rights?
- Frequent concerns.
- Common dysfunctions of the French system and how to overcome them.
- What services are there to support you?
Although the tone is reassuring, the information provided remains realistic. The guides warn of common dysfunctions in the French administrative, legal and judicial systems and provide actionable steps on how to overcome them. Sarah McGrath, CEO of WFWF, says “being transparent about what to expect is vital so people confronted with abuse can make informed decisions at their own pace."
Yasmine El Kotni, President of Women for Women France extends her sincere thanks to all partners of this project “I would to sincerely thank France’s leading experts who worked with us on this project, our many valued delivery partners, and our sponsors and all donors. Thanks for helping us create this inclusive, accessible, complete and intuitive tool. But most of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all the survivors who worked with us on making the Online Resource Centre truly reflective of realities facing victims in France."
The MORC, built by French digital innovation and transformation agency Talan, is already available in 15 languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Khmer, Malagasy, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Tamil, Turkish and Vietnamese. New languages will be added when the NGO obtains further funding.
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