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Activists See European Shortfallsin Battling Domestic Violence

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - The stories are haunting:A young woman beaten by her partner
   before being set on fire in front of her 7-year-old daughter. A photo
   of a smiling scientist whose body is stuffed into a suitcase that is
   dumped into a river.
   These are just two examples in France of so-called femicides -- women
   killed by their partners or family members. The country's 101st case
   this year happened Sunday, when a 92-year-old woman was beaten to death
   by her husband.
   Now, the government is declaring war on domestic violence, announcing
   measures this week ranging from planned legislation to allow electronic
   tagging of suspected perpetrators to designation ofmillions of dollars
   to build more emergency shelters for victims.
   "For centuries, women have been buried under our indifference, our
   denial, our incapacity to face this horror," Prime Minister Edouard
   Philippesaidat a summit in Paris kicking off weeks of national
   consultations on the subject.
   With an average of one woman killed every three days, France has
   afemicide rate that is among Europe's highest, according to available
   data from the Eurostat statistical agency. But domestic violence
   remains widespread across the region, activists say, and other
   governments have yet to sound the alarm.

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