THE PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN FOUNDATION CONTINUES TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ALONGSIDE FRENCH CHARITY "DU CÔTÉ DES FEMMES"

On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women supported by the United Nations, the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation is strengthening its commitment and launching a new programme in collaboration with the French charity “Du Côté des Femmes”. The charity is a partner of “Fondation des Femmes” and welcomes and accompanies women who are victims of violence and forced to flee their homes with their children and find themselves without a roof over their heads or resources. This new programme is a continuation of the cooperation between the two Foundations which began more than a year ago, and which has intensified since the first lockdown.

The Paris Saint-Germain Foundation is supplying educators at one of the Du Cote des Femmes welcome centres in the Greater Paris region to help and improve the daily lives of victims of domestic violence and their children during this second lockdown. From 7 December the educators will offer a tailor-made programme of sports and educational activities for the women and their children, three days per week for the rest of the lockdown period and then one day a week until the end of August 2021, with plans to renew the programme thereafter. This system echoes the one already put in place following the first lockdown with the charity Union Régionale de la Fédération Nationale Solidarité Femmes (URSF) which runs the 3919 telephone counselling service, and which boosted the morale of the 64 women and 84 children in the centre.

Brigitte Chabert, chair of Du Côté des Femmes and URSF said: “Since the first lockdown, domestic violence has increased by 40%, and faced with this harsh reality we have provided emergency transitional accommodation for families fleeing their homes. The commitment of the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation at our side from the very beginning has been extremely important to us. The educators’ work with women and children proved highly valuable during their first project with the URSF last summer and we are delighted to be able to put this support system back in place which will enable them to help rebuild their lives.”

Sabrina Delannoy, Deputy Director of the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation added: "We are pleased to be able to make our partnership long-term with the Fondation des Femmes and its partner charities such as Du Côté des Femmes. This programme will enable women to take part in sports activities such as gymnastics, yoga and relaxation, while children will be able to take part in educational and fun activities or benefit from homework help. Our objective is to bring a human touch during this extremely difficult psychological period for these families, to help them rebuild their lives and regain their self-confidence.”

The Paris Saint-Germain Foundation and the Fondation des Femmes partnership has been in place for over a year. In November 2019 Paris Saint-Germain players Irene Paredes and Arianna Criscione took part in the Nuit des Relais, an organised run against violence against women, held with the Fondation des Femmes. During the first lockdown, the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation had - in addition to providing its educators – also made financial and material donations (clothing, shoes, toys, etc.) to the Fondation des Femmes. Two French international players - Kadidiatou Diani and Perle Morroni - were also involved as spokespersons and posted relevant emergency numbers and contacts on their personal social networks: 3919, the commentonsaime.fr chat or the App-Elles application.

The Paris Saint-Germain Foundation highlights the emergency telephone numbers:

- 3919 is the national reference number for telephone counselling and guidance for women who are victims of violence.

- 119 is the national telephone helpline for children at risk, to report all types of child abuse.