New Law Makes Psychological Violence a Crime

On June 29, the French Parliament unanimously passed groundbreaking legislation making "psychological violence" punishable by law. The bill defines mental violence as "repeated acts which could be constituted by words or other machinations, to degrade one's quality of life and cause a change to one's mental or physical state."

Nadine Morano, the country"s minister for family affairs, told the lower house in parliament that a "judge could (also) take into consideration letters, SMSs or repetitive messages, because one knows that psychological violence is made up of insults." Witness testimony and doctors' certificates of nervous depression can be used as evidence of abuse as well.

The legislation allows for up to three years in jail, a $90,000 fine, and experimental electronic bracelet monitoring to protect victims from perpetrators. Prime Minister François Fillon said this legislation allows for punishment of "the most insidious situations, which don’t leave a mark to the naked eye but can mutilate the victim's inner self."
Reuters Paris, 6/29/10