A Digital Book Addressing Invisible Violence

The Committee to Promote and Safeguard Women’s Rights is launching its new campaign to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which takes place on 25 November.

This initiative is designed to cast a spotlight on invisible violence and raise awareness of the help that is available in Monaco.

Joined by members of the Committee and participants in the 2024 campaign, Céline Cottalorda, Interministerial Delegate for Women’s Rights, emphasised the urgent need to continue the fight against domestic violence:

“Some forms of violence can be insidious and tricky to spot. Talking about this issue is vital so that victims can recognise what they’re enduring.”

Conférence de presse Comité Droits des Femmes 20-11 1 © Manuel Vitali - Direction de la Communication — Conférence de presse Comité Droits des Femmes 20-11 1 © Manuel Vitali – Direction de la Communication

This year, the campaign is focusing on forms of violence which are often overlooked, such as economic abuse, sport-related abuse, and abuse of women with disabilities.

“We aim to broaden the scope of our actions to tackle other lesser-known forms of violence, and to raise public awareness, as this kind of abuse often goes unnoticed”, added Céline Cottalorda.

The campaign’s main image shows a mother and child bursting through the bubble they’re trapped inside to reach a brighter place. Variations of this visual have been designed to represent each theme and the diversity of victims.

Entitled ‘Out of the Shadows and into the Light’, the campaign explores victims’ journeys to escape violence. This journey involves several stages; help is available along the way from professionals who can support them in regaining their independence. The campaign image is accompanied by the subheading, ‘Chronicles of Invisible Violence’, a reference to the digital book produced for the campaign.

This digital book contains nine interviews with professionals from different backgrounds, highlighting the wide range of resources available in the Principality.

Céline Cottalorda gave special thanks to the professionals from the Department of Social Welfare and Social Services, the CHPG, the Police Department, the AVIP and Ms Bergonzi for agreeing to share their experiences, along with Geneviève Berti, Director of Communications, who conducted all the interviews as part of a collaboration between Podcast Monaco Info and The Committee to Promote and Safeguard Women’s Rights.

The book will be published on the Committee’s website from today, the interviews will be available from 25 November as podcasts on the Committee’s website and Monaco Info’s YouTube page.

A Varied Conference Programme

A series of events organised by the Committee and its partners will be held around the week of 25 November to boost the campaign.

– 22 November at 6.30pm at the Automobile Club: ‘Deconstructing Violence’, a conference organised by the Zonta Club with clinical psychologist Dr Anne Boisseuil.

– 23 November at 6pm at the Maison des Associations: ‘Let’s Talk, Respectful Maternity Care’ film talk on obstetric and gynaecological violence, organised by the Entreparents Association.

– 25 November at 6.30pm at the Lycée Rainier III: Conference on ‘Economic Abuse and Discriminatory Practices Against Women’ by Saida Abouid, a specialist in education for women and girls.

– 26 November at 5pm at the Monegasque Institute for Training in the Legal Professions: a round table discussion on ‘Using the Law to Cast a Spotlight on Invisible Violence’ (by invitation only).

– 27 November at 6.30pm at the Lycée Rainier III: ‘Women with Disabilities who are Victims of Violence: More Exposed, Less Protected’ by Stéphanie Gateau, expert in international strategy and management, inclusion, and diversity;

– 28 November at 6.30pm at the Théâtre Princesse Grace: a round table discussion on ‘Violence in Sport: it can be stopped! Featuring extracts from the TV film based on the story of Isabelle Demongeot, a former professional tennis player. With Isabelle Demongeot, Pierre-Emmanuel Luneau-Daurignac, journalist and documentary filmmaker and Nadège Aleksic, psychologist at the Department of Social Welfare and Social Services.

– 29 November at 11am at the Cinéma des Beaux-Arts: A screening of ‘Vivantes!’ organised by the Monaco Women in Finance Institute, a poignant theatrical production written and directed by Élie Chouraqui and produced by Alexandra Fechner.

– 29 November at 6pm at the Deck – Restaurant Marius: Forum Theatre ‘Out of Denial’ organised by the Soroptimist Club. Three actors will perform short scenes depicting violence against women.

In addition to these initiatives, the Women World Leaders of Monaco are running a poster campaign on buses and digital billboards in Monaco, and the associations She Can He Can, and Fight Aids Monaco are running a campaign in which men are taking a stand against violence.