Aware of the importance of combating sexist and sexual violence, the members and teams of Unifrance – managers, employees and their representatives – have decided to draw up a charter expressing the organization's commitment to information, prevention, and the implementation of protocols for listening to and dealing with the situations of victims who are employees, members, and third parties present at events organized by Unifrance.
The present charter, which can be downloaded through this link supplements the existing legal provisions listed in Appendix 1.
It is our social and legal responsibility to guarantee and maintain working conditions that respect people's dignity.
We must be fully aware of the need to intervene when we witness acts covered by the law which could have the purpose or effect of sexual or gender-based violence.
In the event of such acts being reported to us, we must respect the presumption of innocence and, in agreement with the person in difficulty, it is our duty to assist him or her, in particular by supporting and facilitating the reporting of the facts.
DEFINITIONS
Sexist or sexual violence (sexual harassment, assault, rape...) covers situations in which a person imposes on another person behavior(s) or comments (oral or written) with sexist or sexual connotations. (*1)
While both men and women can be victims of sexist and sexual violence, statistics show that women are three times more likely than men to be victims of violence. (*2)
These forms of behavior, which are punishable by law, vary in form but all share certain common characteristics: they are non-consensual, and their purpose or effect is to create humiliation, hostility, intimidation or threats, or to degrade the working environment.
It therefore seems useful to return here to the notion of consent:
- Consent must be free, informed, and given personally
- Silence does not constitute consent
- Consent may be withdrawn at any time
There is therefore no consent if:
- It is given by a third party
- The person does not have the capacity to consent (for example, the person is unconscious due to alcohol, drugs, medication, etc.)
- The person is subjected to a sexual act using violence, threats, coercion, or surprise
The behaviors listed above may include, but are not limited to:
- Sexual or sexist jokes, remarks, or incivilities
- Sexual or sexist insinuations and remarks
- Suggestive gestures
- Unwanted physical contact
- Falsely casual physical contact
- Requests for attention with sexual connotations
- Remarks about a person's body, manners, or sexual activities
- Sending, viewing, or broadcasting sexual or sexist images or films
- Sexual blackmail
- Retaliation for the rejection of a sexual advance or proposal
- Pressures such as the use of physical force, or the threat of physical force to compel a sexual relationship
- Insistence on taking a person to inappropriate places, such as a hotel room
COMMITMENTS
Through this charter, Unifrance commits to:
1. Ensure that its events comply with the law
2. Protect employees, members, and third parties present at events organized by Unifrance against sexual and gender-based violence by implementing a protocol dedicated to the safety and care of victims
3. Oppose all forms of violence, ensuring that any threatening, aggressive, intimidating, blackmailing, harassing, or sexually aggressive behavior will result in action, up to and including, after investigation by management, and by decision of the Executive Committee:
- Temporary exclusion of the respondent for an act committed in France or abroad
- Exclusion of the accused third party, whether an individual or a legal entity, from events organized by Unifrance
- Deregistration of a member of the organization, whether an individual or a legal entity, in application of article 7 of the Unifrance statutes (*3)
4. Develop communication and prevention, within its structure, concerning sexual violence and sexist behavior
5. Train all employees so that they can play an active role in prevention
6. Communicate the present charter to all participants in the organization's operations, and more generally to all its members.
01/29/2025
Unifrance Management
*1 - Combating violence against women, Ministry of the Economy, Finance, and Recovery, November 2020: https://www.economie.gouv.fr/files/files/2020/Guide-violences-sexistes-et-sexuelles-Comprendre-et-Agir.docx.pdf
*2 - https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6047799?sommaire=6047805 / https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1280920#titre-bloc-4
*3 - Article 7 of Unifrance's articles of association dated June 27, 2023: “In the event of non-compliance with the organization's articles of association or internal regulations, or another serious offence, at the discretion of the Board of Directors. In the latter case, expulsion is decided by the Board by an absolute majority, after the member concerned has been invited to be heard."
