Measuring Gender-Based Violence Policy: The Implementation of VAW and Forced Marriage Policy at the National Level

This Paper maps gender-based violence policy in France and sets out the justifications for the selection of our two case studies: domestic violence and forced marriage. Domestic violence was selected because it is the most prevalent form of gender-based violence, occurs in all sections of society, and has featured prominently in French gender-based violence policy from its very beginning. In contrast, forced marriage is ethno-culturally specific and highlights the way French policymaking and implementation deals with difference within an overarching fight against violence against women. In both cases, we are particularly interested in: policy coordination; inclusivity or policy empowerment; and the challenge (or otherwise) to gender relations. We ask: how coordinated implementation responses affect policy outcomes; to what extent are the women concerned and their advocates involved in policy formulation and implementation; and has there been any change in gender relations that we can attribute to the implementation of these policies. Since it arrived on the policy agenda in 2006, forced marriage has been addressed in the context of restrictive immigration policy (where it is often conflated with arranged marriage); and in the context of violence against women policy (where it is addressed separately form forms of violence affecting the majority population). In other areas of gender-based violence, the argument is being made that in order to eliminate violence against women, there needs to be a societal change in attitudes, stereotypes and norms. This is not the case for forced marriage, and this has implications for implementation and for outcomes – in particular gender transformation. In forced marriage, there seems to be more concern with preventing individual cases: educating the victim about support and escape; educating social and education workers; alerting French embassy staff overseas about recognising those at risk of forced marriage; and criminalising those who carry it out.