Interview

France: a deceptive protection

The proliferation of surveillance systems and an increased reliance on incarceration are meant to curb violence. But what are the implications of this kind of security?

France is increasingly resorting to criminal sanctions, which seem to be applied primarily to certain categories of the population. The current security discourse maintains this trend.

Françoise Vergès is a feminist, anti-racist author. Her most recent work, entitled Une théorie féministe de la violence. Pour une politique antiraciste de la protection (A feminist theory of violence: For an anti-racist protection policy), denounces an unequal protection system. Prison Insider asked her three questions.

Sending men to prison has never solved the issue of violence. One in two women is a victim of violence in France, meaning that practically half of all men would have to be put in prison

The feminism that chooses repression, court and the police rather than tackling patriarchy, racism and capitalism has reached a dead end.

Rather than defending a universal right, the surveillance and monitoring tools protect a specific social class.