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Murder of Abusive Husband Casts Stark Light on Domestic Violence in France He Abused Her for Years. She Shot Him. France Asks: Is It Self-Defense?
(about 7 hours later)
LA SELLE-SUR-LE-BIED, France — Jacqueline Sauvage and Norbert Marot married as teenagers and built their dream house of wood and stone with a big garden and terrace in this village 70 miles south of Paris.LA SELLE-SUR-LE-BIED, France — Jacqueline Sauvage and Norbert Marot married as teenagers and built their dream house of wood and stone with a big garden and terrace in this village 70 miles south of Paris.
On the terrace of that home 47 years later, Ms. Sauvage shot her husband in the back three times with a hunting rifle, killing him, and putting an end to what she said was decades of physical abuse by him. She was found guilty of murder late last year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.On the terrace of that home 47 years later, Ms. Sauvage shot her husband in the back three times with a hunting rifle, killing him, and putting an end to what she said was decades of physical abuse by him. She was found guilty of murder late last year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Her case has drawn national attention to domestic violence against women in France, and to the inadequacy of France’s institutions in dealing with the problem.Her case has drawn national attention to domestic violence against women in France, and to the inadequacy of France’s institutions in dealing with the problem.
But it has also raised an uncomfortable question for France: If your husband abuses you for years and one day you shoot and kill him, is it self-defense?But it has also raised an uncomfortable question for France: If your husband abuses you for years and one day you shoot and kill him, is it self-defense?
Now a 68-year-old grandmother of 11, Ms. Sauvage has become a cause célèbre for those who want homicide laws changed to take into account killers who are victims of domestic abuse.Now a 68-year-old grandmother of 11, Ms. Sauvage has become a cause célèbre for those who want homicide laws changed to take into account killers who are victims of domestic abuse.
More than 400,000 people in France signed a petition, started by Ms. Sauvage’s lawyers, asking for President François Hollande to pardon her. He commuted part of her sentence in January, and now she is applying for parole.More than 400,000 people in France signed a petition, started by Ms. Sauvage’s lawyers, asking for President François Hollande to pardon her. He commuted part of her sentence in January, and now she is applying for parole.
What has made Ms. Sauvage’s case notable are the length of time the abuse went on, that it went unreported by Ms. Sauvage or neighbors, and the few options that were available to her.What has made Ms. Sauvage’s case notable are the length of time the abuse went on, that it went unreported by Ms. Sauvage or neighbors, and the few options that were available to her.
But in many regards, Ms. Sauvage’s case is not unique. Every year in France, 223,000 women are physically or psychologically abused by their partners, according to the ministry of family affairs and women rights.But in many regards, Ms. Sauvage’s case is not unique. Every year in France, 223,000 women are physically or psychologically abused by their partners, according to the ministry of family affairs and women rights.
In 2014 alone, it said, 134 women died as a result of violence by their husbands or partners, and five women killed their husbands because of it.In 2014 alone, it said, 134 women died as a result of violence by their husbands or partners, and five women killed their husbands because of it.
Murielle Salmona, a psychiatrist who specializes in trauma, said that the women usually reacted when they reached a “breaking point” after years or even decades of abuse. Muriel Salmona, a psychiatrist who specializes in trauma, said that the women usually reacted when they reached a “breaking point” after years or even decades of abuse.
“When you are a victim of abuse on a regular basis, your brain shuts down and you don’t feel the pain or emotions the same way,” she said. “You need a wake-up call to react and sometimes, it can be very violent.”“When you are a victim of abuse on a regular basis, your brain shuts down and you don’t feel the pain or emotions the same way,” she said. “You need a wake-up call to react and sometimes, it can be very violent.”
On a September night in 2012, Ms. Sauvage was taking a nap when her husband, Mr. Marot, 65, woke her with a hit in the face to demand that she make him some dinner. A heavy drinker, according to court documents, he then took a seat on the terrace with a glass of whiskey. On a September night in 2012, Ms. Sauvage was taking a nap when her husband, Mr. Marot, 65, woke her with a hit in the face to demand that she make him some dinner.
Instead of going to the kitchen, Ms. Sauvage retrieved a hunting rifle from a closet, went to the terrace, and shot him three times in the back. Instead of going to the kitchen, Ms. Sauvage retrieved a hunting rifle from a closet, went to the terrace where he was sitting drinking whiskey, and shot him three times in the back.
By that time, Ms. Sauvage, who married at 18, had completely lost touch with her parents, her five brothers and the rest of her family, who did not approve of her husband.By that time, Ms. Sauvage, who married at 18, had completely lost touch with her parents, her five brothers and the rest of her family, who did not approve of her husband.
She gave birth to her fourth child at the age of 25, and worked with her husband for most of her life running a trucking company. She had no friends, only her immediate family.She gave birth to her fourth child at the age of 25, and worked with her husband for most of her life running a trucking company. She had no friends, only her immediate family.
No one appears to have known her in La Selle-sur-le-Bied, a village of just a thousand inhabitants where everyone seems to agree that what happens to the family next door is none of your business.No one appears to have known her in La Selle-sur-le-Bied, a village of just a thousand inhabitants where everyone seems to agree that what happens to the family next door is none of your business.
Yet Mr. Marot’s rudeness, bad temper and propensity for violence were an open secret.Yet Mr. Marot’s rudeness, bad temper and propensity for violence were an open secret.
“Those kinds of things stay behind closed doors,” said a local man at the only bar in town, Le Bar de l’Amitié, translated as the bar of friendship, who asked to remain anonymous because he had encountered problems with Mr. Marot in the past. “Those kinds of things stay behind closed doors,” said a local man at the only bar in town, Le Bar de l’Amitié (the Bar of Friendship), who asked to remain anonymous because he had had problems with Mr. Marot in the past.
Behind those doors, Mr. Marot physically and sexually abused all three of his daughters, they testified, and also hit their brother Pascal, who committed suicide only a day before his mother killed his father. Ms. Sauvage learned of her son’s death only after she was taken into custody — his body was discovered the day after her arrest. Behind those doors, Mr. Marot physically and sexually abused all three of his daughters when they were teenagers, the daughters testified, and also hit their brother Pascal. Ms. Sauvage did not know it when she killed her husband, but Pascal, 44, had committed suicide the day before.
Court documents show that Ms. Sauvage and her children felt constantly threatened by Mr. Marot, who told his wife that he would kill her and her children if she tried to leave.Court documents show that Ms. Sauvage and her children felt constantly threatened by Mr. Marot, who told his wife that he would kill her and her children if she tried to leave.
Ms. Sauvage once tried to kill herself, but a doctor who treated her never inquired about the reason. When her daughter complained to the police that her father had raped her, the local police officer, instead of taking her seriously, called Mr. Marot, prompting her to retract her accusation out of fear of her father’s reaction.Ms. Sauvage once tried to kill herself, but a doctor who treated her never inquired about the reason. When her daughter complained to the police that her father had raped her, the local police officer, instead of taking her seriously, called Mr. Marot, prompting her to retract her accusation out of fear of her father’s reaction.
Doctors and midwives started mandatory training on violence against women in France only in 2013. Catherine Le Magueresse, a researcher who specializes in violence against women, said the Sauvage case raised questions about French institutions’ failure to help battered women. “The justice system is not trained for such cases,” she said, “and the phenomenon of physical and psychological hold is not well known.”
Since 2014, a free national phone line offers support for victims of domestic abuse, and an interministerial committee has put in place a national strategy to train more of the police and social workers on dealing with the problem. But, she added, “Everyone in feminist circles and in the justice system were not at ease with this case, because when you are a victim of physical abuse and you kill your abuser, you become like him in a way — you choose violence.”
For Catherine Le Magueresse, a researcher who specializes in violence against women, Ms. Sauvage’s case raised the question of the failure of French institutions to help battered women. France first recognized domestic abuse in its penal code in 1992, and it has adopted a range of measures in recent years to tackle the problem. Training on violence against women became mandatory for doctors and midwives in 2013, and a free national phone line was set up in 2014. More training for police officers and social workers is planned.
“The justice system is not trained for such cases and the phenomenon of physical and psychological hold is not well known,” she said. But the issue of women who kill their abusive husbands has proved especially complex. Often the cases do not meet France’s strict definition of self-defense: an immediate reaction to an attack.
But, she added, “Everyone in feminist circles and in the justice system were not at ease with this case because when you are a victim of physical abuse and you kill your abuser, you become like him in a way — you choose violence.” At her trial, Ms. Sauvage told the court that she had acted on an impulse after one insult too many. But the jury found that it was not self-defense because she shot him in the back several minutes after he hit her.
Since 2006, France has adopted a range of measures to tackle the problem of domestic abuse, which was first recognized in the penal code in 1992. When the presiding judge repeatedly asked her why she waited so long, Ms. Sauvage could not give a convincing answer.
But the issue of women who kill their abusive husbands has proved especially complex when the cases do not fit France’s strict self-defense laws, which limit the definition to an immediate reaction to an attack. “But the jury did not take her story into consideration,” said Janine Bonaggiunta, one of Ms. Sauvage’s lawyers. “If you have been in permanent danger for more than 50 years, is that not self-defense?”
At her trial, Ms. Sauvage told the court that she had acted on an impulse after one insult too many. But because she shot him in the back several minutes after he had hit her, self-defense did not apply, the jury found. Valérie Boyer, a member of Parliament, is preparing new legislation that she said would take account of cases like Ms. Sauvage’s, where women are abused over long periods, without giving the women a “license to kill.”
When the presiding judge repeatedly asked her why she waited so long — especially given Mr. Marot’s history — Ms. Sauvage could not give a convincing answer. The Sauvage case seems already to be having an influence on other similar cases. Four days after Mr. Hollande said he would commute part of Ms. Sauvage’s sentence, another woman, Bernadette Dimet, 59, who shot her husband dead in 2012 after 40 years of abuse, received a suspended five-year sentence.
“But the jury did not take her story into consideration,” said Janine Bonnaggiunta, one of Ms. Sauvage’s lawyers. “If you have been in permanent danger for more than 50 years, is that not self-defense?” Ms. Sauvage still must spend six months in a detention center, where experts will evaluate her, and there are other procedural steps before she can be released on parole. But according to her lawyers, she already feels, for the first time, that she is free.
Valérie Boyer, a member of Parliament in the conservative Republican Party, has spoken supportively of Ms. Sauvage and is preparing new legislation that would take account of cases like hers.
“We need to reinforce the application of the law but also to legislate on the idea that these women are in permanent danger,” she said, without giving them a “license to kill.”
Although it is still unclear how Ms. Sauvage’s case will affect French policy, it seems already to have influenced recent court cases.
Four days after Mr. Hollande’s announcement that he would commute part of Ms. Sauvage’s sentence, another woman, Bernadette Dimet, 59, received a suspended five-year sentence for killing her husband. He had abused her for 40 years, until she shot him in the chest in 2012.
Ms. Sauvage still has to undergo a long procedure before she can be released, including spending six months in a detention center where experts will evaluate her.
According to her lawyers, however, Ms. Sauvage feels “free for the first time, despite the fact that she is still in jail.”