For more than two years, the Utopia 56 association has been renting a house in Seine-Saint-Denis to accommodate migrants whose minority has not been recognized by the state. You will find legal and social support there and can stay there until you come of age.
Clothes and shoes are piled up in the living room of the women's shelter (in French “women's shelter”) in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis). “It suits me, doesn’t it?” Batouly mischievously tries on orange flared trousers in front of the mirror. The exile aid association Utopia 56, which manages the house, has just received donations. On this Sunday evening in October, attendants and residents are busy separating the items that can still be used from those that cannot. The atmosphere is warm. A woman braids another woman's hair in front of a Nollywood (Nigerian film industry) series on television. Another is typing on her cell phone and amusingly commenting on her neighbors' amenities. A peanut dish is simmering in the kitchen and giving off a pleasant scent.
“I feel comfortable here, it’s quiet,” says Batouly, a former resident of the house. The women's shelter was opened in April 2021 by Utopia 56 in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders and houses nine foreign women who have not yet managed to have their minority recognized. In order to benefit from social assistance for children (ASE), unaccompanied foreign minors (UMA, formerly called isolated minors) arriving in France must have their minority status recognized as part of an assessment carried out by them Departmental Services.
Difficult recognition of the minority
According to a 2021 Senate report (PDF document), 55% of those evaluated are rejected at the end of this process. In Paris, only 33% of the 8,500 young people who will have completed an assessment by the end of 2023 will be recognized as minors, according to City Hall estimates.
Residents and volunteers of the Bobigny “women’s shelter” sort clothes in the living room, October 8, 2023. (ELISE LAMBERT / FRANCEINFO)
Identity documents are often not considered reliable proof of minority membership. In other cases, “the expert considers that the discrepancies in the history of the young people, their 'maturity' or their 'morphology' do not make it possible to prove that they are minors,” continues Maëlle Vi Van, immigration rights lawyer . For example, young people are asked about the age of their aunts and uncles and their memories of an event such as the Covid-19 pandemic. “It's a bit ridiculous for a young person who didn't go to school. And then in certain cultures the definition of parents is not the same as in France and age does not matter,” the lawyer adds.
Kady, a former resident of the women's shelter, remembers an assessment whose purpose she didn't even know. “It took a long time, I was tired. Nobody told me why they were asking me all these questions,” explains the 18-year-old Ivorian, sitting on the sofa in the living room. If these young people are not recognized as minors, they can appeal to a judge. “But it takes months,” explains Coline, 24, the house coordinator. “While they wait for a new decision, they are put back on the streets.” Because if a young person is not recognized as a minor, he is de facto considered an adult and his situation is the responsibility of the state authorities. However, adult care facilities are often at capacity.
“Like a roommate of ten young people”
Until July 2023, Paris City Hall During her appeal, minors could be accommodated at the hotel, but that system ended this summer. “We offered the state a building to accommodate young people whose appeal is currently being examined, but we were rejected,” defends Dominique Versini, deputy mayor of Paris, responsible for children's rights and child protection. Another home in the 15th arrondissement offers space for 40 young people, but will close at the end of the year.
The women's shelter is therefore one of the rare contact points for the care of minors who lodge appeals, especially girls. In two years she gave birth to 32 “baby girls,” as she calls them, 17 of whom were later recognized as minors. They come from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Congo and Nigeria. Some arrived alone, others accompanied. “They can stay as long as they want until they are looked after by the ASE,” continues Coline, the coordinator. The shortest stay was three weeks and the longest was a year.
“Our goal is to create a 'safe space', a safe place where they can rebuild and rest, away from bad memories and prying eyes.”
Coline, coordinator of the “Women’s Shelter”
at franceinfo
In order to make your stay as smooth as possible, special rules apply in the women's shelter. No one asks the young women questions about their age or background so that they don't have to go through the government's interrogations again. The residents share household chores and shopping. There is a 9 p.m. curfew during the week, which is shortened to midnight on weekends. To respect the principle of no mixing, no boy is allowed to stay overnight. “These are teenagers who come from different cultures, so of course there can be differences of opinion, but it's like having a roommate of ten young people,” notes Coline.
Batouly is cooking on October 8, 2023 in the “women’s house” of the Utopia 56 association in Bobigny. (ELISE LAMBERT / FRANCEINFO)
Every evening a female member of the club stays awake from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. “The night is quiet, the women relax, watch series, talk… I'm there to respond to their needs,” explains Evane, “Night Light” four evenings a month.
Museum trips and rap concerts
Utopia 56 also offers sporting and cultural activities to exiles. Climbing, boxing, football and handball lessons are offered for women. “We were able to take them to rap concerts, to the skating rink, to the museum or to visit Paris,” Coline remembers. “I took part in drawing and painting workshops. A trip to the Eiffel Tower…” explains Kady. Last July, a A riding camp took place in Occitania and residents were able to stay overnight with supportive accommodation providers outside Bobigny.
“At first here I was shy and stayed in my room. But the girls came to talk to me and little by little I started to feel more comfortable.”
Kady, former Ivorian resident
at franceinfo
In addition, workshops were set up to raise awareness of sexuality and emotional life. Nurses and midwives are in regular contact with the young girls. In the house, residents have access to hygiene products, make-up and condoms. The re-appropriation of one's own body and sexuality is part of the residents' reconstruction process.
A journey marked by sexual violence
Because most of the young girls who arrive in Bobigny have a history of sexual violence. Only the former residents, who were more confident, agreed to talk about this topic. “I left Ivory Coast in 2021 because my father wanted to force me to marry,” says Kady, sitting apart in a room. “I managed to get to Morocco with an aunt, but there was too much violence,” she says.
“I worked with a family in Morocco to pay for my passage, but they weren't good to me, they beat me. The man asked me things I didn’t want to do.”
According to a 2022 report (PDF document) by the Primo Lévi Center, which specializes in receiving victims of torture, women represent 50.5% of the world's displaced people and almost all have suffered sexual violence. According to another study published in September by Lancet Regional Health, a third of women in exile in France say they have been victims of sexual violence.
Hygiene protection for residents of the women's shelter in Bobigny, October 8, 2023. (ELISE LAMBERT / FRANCEINFO)
After collecting enough money to cross the Mediterranean, Kady once again suffered the advances of smugglers. “As a girl, you are always in danger. Men always expect something from you, sexual things. There is so much violence along the way…” she continues in a quiet voice. “That's why single sex is a relief; once you've experienced things with unfriendly men, you don't want to have anything to do with them anymore.”
At his side, Batouly agrees. She remembers a moment she “will never forget.” When she left Ivory Coast to escape her father-in-law's violence, she met a “lady” along the way who helped her get to Algeria. They arrived in Oran, where “men remained.” [leur] “Asked about sexual things,” she says slowly. The lady who accompanied her ended her life. For Batouly, her suicide is a consequence of this sexist violence.
A future to build
In order to be able to rebuild herself after such a trip, Kady was accompanied by a psychologist for a year during her stay in the women's shelter. Today, like Batouly, she is cared for by the ASE and lives in a hotel in Noisy-le-Sec, 3 km from Bobigny. She founded a CAP in retail and dreams of opening a clothing store. “When I was walking here with my friends, I met my friend who works in a bakery. He is an MNA like me,” she admits with a smile.
The other residents pursue career paths and become social workers, beauticians or even chefs. “We see them arrive tired, and there are several revolutions,” notes Coline. “The first is that they laugh for the first time and enjoy taking care of themselves. The second thing is that when they are under ASE care, they become hyper-talkative.” Kady comes back very often to see those she considers “her family.” But other girls are waiting. According to MP Dominique Versini, there is currently “a very significant increase in the number of young people” arriving in Paris every day.