Do you know Angela? Since 2016, she has been the guardian angel of women harassed in the street. When faced with an overly pushy guy, just walk into one of the partner bars, ask for Angela, and the staff with the code take care of ordering a taxi, calling the police, or deterring the driver service. Initiated in England, the device was imported for the first time in France in 2017 by the student feminist collective of Rouen, before spreading to Caen, Amiens, Reims… and in the offices of Marlène Schiappa.
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“Angela, this is coming
from the street “
The Secretary of State for Gender Equality and the Fight against Discrimination launched a few weeks ago “the Angela plan”. ” In partnership with UN Women and HeForShe, we will develop the Ask Angela system “, Is it written in the press release dated May 28, 2020. In bars, but also ” in other places, relying on partnerships forged during the confinement period : in pharmacies, store signs that open late at night. »
In full deconfinement, the announcement did not have a great media echo, but it still came to the ears of the student feminist collective of Rouen, which is absolutely not cited by Marlène Schiappa. It is not that the militants are upset, but this “Angela plan” has for them a taste for political recovery. ” We do not ask what we are quoted us, but the associative work is completely hidden, lighting bolt Thomas Lamboy-Martin, member of the collective. However, it is the associations which, in all the cities, have put this in place for years, it is they who have found the partner bars, who have communicated it. Angela, it’s not the idea of a municipality or a government : it comes from the street. »
Moreover, the collective had also reacted strongly when Marine Caron, candidate for mayor of Rouen, had written ” the enlargement of the citizen system Angela In his pre-first round program …
You might think that the spotlight of Marlène Schiappa would allow Angela to become better known, but activists fear on the contrary that women and institutions are
more cautious to develop the concept if it is related to a political party. ” And then, if the associations have managed to put this in place, perhaps the government’s budget could be used for something other than developing something that already exists. »
Contacted, the secretary of state did not respond to our requests. In Rouen, the system is still used in around forty bars, even if the dormant collective has not run a promotional campaign for some time. But does it work? ” We know that the code was used. Once by two men who held hands in rue de la République, and at least two more times after that. After all, it’s not the number that counts, but the efficiency.
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