The Lecornu government signed a new decree this Sunday, 8 February, restricting access to healthcare to individuals who are able to provide photographic proof of identity. While this measure may appear to be a simple administrative check, it ignores the lived reality of thousands of women experiencing violence and places their lives at risk.
State Medical Aid: a vital lifeline
State Medical Aid (Aide Médicale de l’État - AME) is a vital safety-net within the French healthcare system.
People without a residence permit in France cannot legally work, access social benefits, or join the general Social Security system. In these circumstances, AME is often the only means of accessing healthcare. It provides access to treatment for chronic illnesses (including diabetes), contraception, pregnancy care, breast cancer screening and treatment, HIV medication, and other essential services.
What about the thousands of women deprived of identity documents by their abusers?
Research conducted by Women for Women France shows that the majority of undocumented women in France are in this situation as a result of administrative abuse perpetrated within intimate relationships: confiscation or destruction of identity documents, deliberate obstruction of administrative procedures (such as refusing to provide supporting documents), and blocking access to digital government platforms.
These risks are compounded by the widespread dysfunction of the Administration Numérique pour les Étrangers en France (ANEF) platform, which led many foreign nationals to lose their residency rights, as uncovered by the Défenseur des droits in 2024. Situations strictly linked to so-called “irregular immigration” to France are, in reality, a minority.
Women subjected to these circumstances are entirely overlooked by this new decree.
A sentence for women experiencing violence
By requiring photographic identification to access AME, this reform excludes many women who are victims of domestic abuse, trafficking, or sexual exploitation precisely when they most need support: following physical assault, sexual violence, rape, or psychological abuse, for example.
Although administrative abuse is not yet recognised under the French Criminal Code, we estimate that approximately 85,000 women are in an irregular administrative situation as a direct result of their abusers’ actions. Violent partners, traffickers, and exploitative employers frequently use the confiscation, destruction, or retention of identity documents as a tactic to maintain control and dependency.
Excluding women from AME because they cannot present photographic identification deprives them of their only access to prevention, screening, and medical care. It effectively prolongs the violence they are subjected to.
“It is essential that any reform be grounded in a rigorous risk assessment and informed by consultation with expert groups throughout its development and implementation.
By adopting this reform without meeting these fundamental requirements, the Lecornu government is pursuing a policy whose consequences could prove fatal for many women across France.” says Sarah McGrath, Chief Executive Officer, Women for Women France
Action taken by Women for Women France
Women for Women France has contacted the Prime Minister’s cabinet to discuss the introduction of potential emergency measures for women whose irregular administrative status results from domestic abuse, trafficking, or sexual exploitation.
What you can do
1. Contact the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health directly on social media and urge them to find an urgent solution for women who are unable to present identity documents as a result of administrative abuse. Every voice counts in preventing thousands of women already exposed to violence from also being deprived of their fundamental right to healthcare.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu
Minister for Health Stéphanie Rist
Media
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- Helpline for victims of domestic abuse and gender-based violence: 3919 (24/7)
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About WFWF
Women for Women France (WFWF) is the creator and manager of the national Online Multilingual Online Resource Centre for all people confronted with domestic abuse and gender-based violence in France. Our expertise is in domestic abuse, coercive control, and migrants’ rights.
WFWF has a team of multi-disciplinary experts in France who monitor current events and laws and provide research-based insights and recommendations.