Women for Women France calls on politicians across the political spectrum to stop using Lyhanna’s memory to serve their own political strategies.
Denials of responsibility, defensive posturing, calls for resignations and attempts to reduce this tragedy to individual failings all obscure what it truly represents: the result of a justice system with serious structural failings in its ability to protect women and children subjected to violence.
WFWF joins parents across France in calling on political leaders to fulfil the responsibility for which they were elected: undertake an urgent and profound reform of the French justice system.
Ending male violence against women and children is a complex challenge. Reforming the French justice system is not.
However, a failing system cannot be transformed through symbolic measures and band-aid solutions.
Below are two fundamental reforms that would provide a decisive response to problems that police officers, judges and specialist organisations have been raising for years.
1. The complete absence of immediate temporary protections
France currently has no institutional culture of preventive protection – that is, the immediate implementation of temporary protective measures.
Perpetrators of violence and abuse continue to move freely, remain in contact with women and children and place them at risk, even after serious reports have been made and risks have been identified. This exposes women and children to life-threatening danger.
Sarah McGrath, Chief Executive Officer of Women for Women France, says:
“It is outrageous that the true failing of the French justice system, the failing that led to Lyhanna’s death, is barely being discussed: the misuse of the presumption of innocence to justify failing to place victims in immediate safety after a report has been made, through temporary protective measures while an investigation is conducted. Women and children are dying in France because of this failure.
“Public prosecutors and family court judges consider that they cannot act or impose temporary measures, such as protection orders or restrictions on contact with children, until a complete body of evidence has been assembled, an investigation has been concluded or a court has issued a ruling.”
WFWF’s recommendation
France needs a new comprehensive legal framework for the protection of women and children that includes and prioritises immediate temporary protective measures.
As in other democracies, the victim’s account alone justifies the immediate introduction of temporary measures to ensure their safety, without requiring them to provide a complete body of evidence. These measures may include prohibiting contact with children, requiring the accused person to stay away, issuing a protection order or introducing any other measure appropriate to the circumstances.
These measures must be followed by an immediate and thorough investigation and, where appropriate, court proceedings that fully uphold the presumption of innocence.
Such procedures are also in the interests of anyone who has been “wrongly accused”. If the investigation or court proceedings do not establish their guilt, the temporary measures are lifted. However, where a risk exists, protection of victims cannot wait.
Sarah McGrath said:
“This practice has proven effective in countries such as Australia, where interim restraining orders can be issued immediately, based solely on the victim’s statement. Any man who genuinely cares about the safety of women and children in France should be willing to comply with such temporary measures, knowing that they are applied systematically to anyone accused.”
2. Major investment in processing cases and supporting victims
Protecting women and children subjected to violence requires resources proportionate to the seriousness of the issue.
French courts do not have enough judges and public prosecutors to process cases within timelines compatible with the urgency of situations. Investigations and proceedings accumulate, undermining both victims’ safety and public confidence in the justice system.
Furthermore, the professionals responsible for receiving complaints, investigating cases and adjudicating violence against women and children almost never receive comprehensive training on the specific dynamics of gender-based violence.
Without adequate training, they are neither competent nor legitimate to handle such cases and this places women and children at serious risk. Comprehensive and continuous training is necessary to ensure that victims are heard and understood, risks are properly assessed, and protective measures are implemented effectively.
However, this is not solely a question of resources. It is also a question of institutional priorities.
Today in France, the overwhelming majority of reports of gender-based violence, sexual violence and violence against children do not lead to an investigation by police officers or gendarmes. Witnesses are rarely contacted, and public prosecutors routinely close cases without further action, even where substantial evidence exists.
According to a study by the Institut des politiques publiques, 86% of sexual violence cases are closed without further action. In rape cases, the figure rises to 94%.
When a complaint concerning rape, sexual violence, gender-based violence or violence against a child is made, it should be treated as an emergency. Yet reports are too often not taken seriously or do not result in an investigation.
The events that led to Lyhanna’s murder are not simply the result of institutional dysfunction or individual failings. They are representative of the norm within the French justice system.
WFWF's recommendation
Women for Women France is calling for major investment in recruiting judges and public prosecutors so that the justice system can fully perform its role and process cases within timeframes compatible with the effective protection of victims.
At a minimum, recruitment should allow France to reach the European average. This would mean having approximately four times as many public prosecutors per capita as France currently has.
We also call for substantial investment in the continuous training of all actors within the justice system, particularly the police officers and gendarmes responsible for receiving complaints and the judges and public prosecutors responsible for handling these cases.
This training must address the specific dynamics of violence against women and children, listening to victims, identifying unconscious biases that may influence decision-making, assessing risk and implementing protective measures that place people in safety quickly when necessary.
Finally, violence against women and children must become an absolute priority for police and judicial action.
Every complaint must be handled systematically, immediately, rigorously and thoroughly. Every piece of evidence must be sought, every relevant witness interviewed and every situation involving potential danger assessed without delay.
Protecting women and children requires these offences to be treated with the urgency and seriousness they demand.
Women for Women France, parents and women across France demand radical reform of the French justice system
Any political proposal or comprehensive legal framework that does not prioritise these two essential reforms fails to reflect the seriousness of the situation and places women and children in France at risk.
Protecting women and children requires more than statements of principle. It requires structural reform, concrete resources and political determination proportionate to the risks.
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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.