A bright pink sticker on the windows and a code: Angela. On the occasion of International Women’s Rights Day, Monday March 8, the city of Nîmes is inaugurating a system to combat street harassment. Called “Angela”, this operation aims to create safe areas accessible to anyone who feels in danger.
Presented in May 2020 by Marlène Schiappa, then Secretary of State in charge of equality between women and men and the fight against discrimination, taking up the “Ask for Angela” concept developed in England, this plan plans to create “Safe places in partner bars across the country”. It is tested in Amiens, Caen, Rouen and Reims. In this city of Champagne-Ardenne, the system was set up by two students from the Neoma business school and brought together 24 establishments.
By making this large-scale project a reality and training partners, Nîmes is positioning itself as a pilot city. Banks, mutuals, opticians, food shops can participate in this initiative, relayed on the city’s application. A communication campaign has been flooding the advertising panels of the Gard prefecture for a few days. “If someone is following you insistently, if you cannot extricate yourself from a situation, you must spot the pink button, enter the store and ask for Angela”, explains Mylène Mouton, municipal councilor in charge of women’s rights.
“A chain of mutual aid”
“It is a way of creating a network of collective benevolence to assist disadvantaged people, a kind of collective bulwark against street harassment, adds Béatrice Bertrand, director of the Information Center on the Rights of Women and Families. We are in a climate where there is awareness about violence against women, it is time to act. “
On the spot, the initiative arouses enthusiasm. “Nearly 150 businesses are voluntary. All will be trained. We explain the concepts of sexism, the crime of voyeurism, and a psychologist provides advice to learn to identify dangers, reassure, listen ”, details Béatrice Bertrand. In her clothing store, Stéphanie Cournier did not hesitate to join the movement: “For me, it was obvious, even if I did not wait for the device to act. The fact that it is visible, I tell myself that it will perhaps dissuade some of them from acting… ” Between the clothes portals, she reveals her refuge area. A bench and a blanket have been added between the boxes. Also at hand, the “reflex” sheet; received in training. “There are tips and steps to follow to adopt the right behavior, emergency numbers”, specifies the shopkeeper.
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