France Pays Hotel Rooms for Victims of Domestic Violence

France is responding to the lockdown-related spike in domestic violence cases by offering victims of violence with hotel rooms, while setting up popup counselling centers to further expand its support to those in need.

Marlène Schiappa, French Gender Equality Minister, says the government would pay for 20,000 hotel nights for domestic violence victims and finance around 20 counseling centers in grocery stores, to provide women with opportunities to call for help while shopping.

The government is also planning to add around 1.1 million dollars of funds to anti-domestic abuse organizations so they can meet the increased demand for help. Following Spain’s footsteps, victims can now additionally go to pharmacies and ask for a “Mask-19”, a code word prompting pharmacists to contact the authorities.