On the evening of November 25, BRED’s Savane branch in Fort-de-France turned orange. To mark the launch of the Oranger le monde 2025 international campaign, members of the Soroptimist International Fort-de-France Alizés Sud club brought together partners, institutions, associations and citizens to mark the start of 16 days of activism against violence against women. The evening also marked Martinique’s commitment to the global movement Oranger le monde.
In this venue usually dedicated to welcoming the public, the evening took the form of a moment of profound mobilization, where speeches, figures and testimonials highlighted a reality that demands unity.
A global campaign, a local commitment
Michéla Adin opened the meeting with a reminder of the significance of this period: from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day. She explained why the international Orange the World campaign chooses orange as a visible sign of hope and action, a symbol taken up by millions of people every year.
She also thanked BRED Martinique-Guyane, a loyal partner of the club, for its hospitality and support in organizing this evening under the banner of Oranger le monde.
"Violence against women is not a news item".
Then Stéphane Timbert, Regional Director of BRED Martinique-Guyane, delivered a sobering message.
“Violence against women is not a news story.”
He reminded us that behind the statistics lie shattered lives, destabilized families and permanently scarred children. He insisted on an essential principle: responsibility always lies with the perpetrator, never with the victim.
As part of the Oranger le monde campaign, he explained how a cooperative bank can take concrete action: training teams to welcome customers in danger, guaranteeing confidentiality and discretion, facilitating the economic autonomy of women seeking to rebuild their lives. He also emphasized that the majority of BRED employees are women, and that no woman should be left alone in the face of violence.
ARS: violence as a public health emergency
Guillaume Gobenceaux, Deputy Director General of the Martinique Regional Health Agency, then placed the subject in a different context: that of public health.
He pointed out that violence has a direct impact on the mental, physical and social health of its victims. Hospital professionals see this every day. He also announced a series of prevention campaigns targeting non-consent, chemical submissions, street harassment, rape culture and under-age prostitution – all realities to which Oranger le monde wishes to respond forcefully.
Her message was clear: combating violence against women means protecting health, reinforcing screening and breaking down isolation.
Numbers that shake things up
When Michéla Adin took the floor again to share the latest data, there was silence.
In France, 107 women were killed by their spouse or ex-spouse in 2024, up 11% on 2023.
In Martinique, two to three women die every year as a result of violence inflicted by their partner. Physical violence accounts for the vast majority of cases, but sexual violence – including marital rape – is largely under-reported and trivialized.
According to the figures presented, one out of every three women in the country has suffered sexual violence in her lifetime. And since less than 40% of victims file a complaint, the reality is even more extensive than official figures reveal.
This violence extends into everyday life: sexism in the workplace, street harassment, cyberstalking, revenge porn among the very young… So many forms that shape a climate of insecurity. It’s also for this reason that Oranger le monde has chosen to place prevention at the heart of the 2025 campaign.
Soroptimist: understanding, undertaking, defending
The last speaker was Brigitte Léger, President 2025-2026 of the Soroptimist International Fort-de-France Alizés Sud club.
She structured her speech around three verbs: understand, undertake, defend.
- – Understanding means recognizing that violence is not just physical. It also takes the form of insults, threats, humiliations, controls and silences. It means learning to spot the signals, listen without judgment, and reach out.
- – Entrepreneurship means transforming awareness into concrete action: workshops with CCAS, training for employment professionals, interventions with local authorities, support for young people in integration. The club is also preparing to open a Mélanie room in Le Lorrain, a safe listening space for women and children who are victims of violence against women.
- – Defending means demanding resources, supporting associations, calling for dignified and appropriate reception facilities, and refusing to be indifferent.
She concluded by reminding us that the fight against violence is a commitment that transcends borders, identities and affiliations. It’s a fight for dignity, and a major focus of Oranger le monde.
Violence is not a culture
At the end of the evening, the organizers reiterated the core message: violence against women is not a culture, in Martinique or anywhere else.
Oranger le monde is not a one-off event, or a simple color on a poster. It’s a commitment to look reality in the face, to listen to victims, to reject trivialization, to support the structures that take action, to strengthen the fight against violence against women in all its complexity.
For those who suffer violence today, there are resources available:
- – 3919 (national helpline number)
- – 17 in case of immediate danger
- – 18 for the fire department
As this evening has shown, silence protects violence, but speaking out can save lives. In Martinique, as everywhere else, Oranger le monde calls on us to act together.
FAQ
Oranger le monde is an international campaign that runs every year from November 25 to December 10. Its aim is to raise awareness, mobilize and take action against violence against women, through public actions, training, conferences and local or institutional initiatives.
Orange symbolizes hope, visibility and solidarity with victims. It serves as a unifying sign to remind us that violence against women must never be trivialized or considered inevitable.
The campaign covers all forms of violence: physical, sexual, psychological, economic, digital, marital or domestic. It also includes street harassment, sexism in the workplace and digital violence such as cyberstalking.
