At the headquarters of the association Guadav-France Victims 971 in Pointe-à-Pitre, in the French West Indian island of Guadeloupe, director Sandra François talks to a 21-year-old woman who was physically and emotionally abused by her ex-partner. "The turning point was the day he strangled me in front of our daughter. I said to myself, 'No, this can't go on any longer,'" says the young woman, who wishes to remain anonymous. After two years of abuse, she fled her home in February 2025 and has been living in a shelter ever since, separated from her daughter, whom her ex-partner prevents her from seeing. "In 2025, we are seeing that victims who come to us for support and help are doing so for physical violence, for much more serious incidents than before," notes Sandra François, who has been working in victim support since 2009. During her visit to the island of Basse-Terre, Aurore Berge, the French Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight against Discrimination, signed an agreement to make it easier for women victims of domestic violence to lodge complaints directly at the university hospital. In Guadeloupe, there are 12 victims of domestic violence per 1,000 inhabitants, compared with 10.2 in mainland France, according to the Ministry of the Interior. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES