Violence meter, consent meter, harassment meter: what these tests are for, and how to read them
The Red or Green team · published September 29, 2026
They look like magazine quizzes, but most of them come from French public institutions and specialized nonprofits. What they measure, where they come from, how to read a result — and why they have nothing to do with a red flag ranking.
The idea: a graded ruler
All these tools rest on the same idea, borrowed from the violentomètre (violence meter): a list of concrete situations, ordered from the healthiest to the most dangerous, like the marks on a ruler. You check what you’ve experienced. It isn’t a score that adds up: what counts is the highest level reached, because a single serious situation is enough to change the nature of a relationship.
The tool’s strength is putting words to what people don’t dare name. Many people in a violent relationship don’t see themselves as victims: they tell themselves he’s “just jealous,” or she “has a temper.” Seeing the situation written out in black and white, at the red level, can be enough to make it click.
🌡️ Violence meter (Violentomètre): check on your relationship
A tool to gauge whether your romantic relationship is healthy or shows signs of violence.
It lists 24 situations to check if you’ve experienced them. Each belongs to one of four levels, from healthiest to most serious; the result shows the highest level reached:
- Healthy — Your relationship seems healthy
- Watch out — Say stop, stay alert
- Violence — This is violence — act on it
- Danger — Protect yourself, call for help
Where it comes from. The violentomètre was created in 2018 by the observatories on violence against women of Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris, the nonprofit En Avant Toute(s) and the City of Paris, then adapted and distributed across the Île-de-France region by the Centre Hubertine Auclert.
🤝 Consent meter (Consentomètre): check whether your consent is respected
A tool to assess whether your consent is respected in your relationships — friendships, romantic relationships, at school or university, or at work.
It lists 29 situations to check if you’ve experienced them. Each belongs to one of four levels, from healthiest to most serious; the result shows the highest level reached:
- Healthy — Your situation seems healthy
- Watch out — Careful, stay alert
- Warning — Protect yourself, talk about it
- Danger — Say STOP, find support
Where it comes from. The consentomètre was created by the University of Poitiers’ equality and diversity office and released under a Creative Commons license (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives).
Who to turn to, in addition to the emergency numbers (in France): CNAE — listening line for students.
🛡️ Incest meter (Incestomètre): spot inappropriate behavior
A tool to tell normal from abnormal behavior within your family or close circle.
It lists 20 situations to check if you’ve experienced them. Each belongs to one of four levels, from healthiest to most serious; the result shows the highest level reached:
- Healthy — Relationships seem healthy
- Watch out — Careful, stay alert
- Warning — This isn’t normal — talk about it
- Danger — This is against the law — call for help
Where it comes from. The guidelines used draw on the awareness work of two French nonprofits, Face à l’inceste and Mémoire Traumatique et Victimologie.
Who to turn to, in addition to the emergency numbers (in France): 119 — Allô Enfance en Danger (children at risk); 0 800 05 95 95 — Viols Femmes Informations (rape and sexual violence helpline); Face à l’inceste (nonprofit supporting incest survivors); Mémoire Traumatique (resources on psychological trauma and violence).
🎯 Harassment meter (Harcélomètre): are you being harassed?
A tool to assess whether you are being harassed at school, online or in everyday life.
It lists 23 situations to check if you’ve experienced them. Each belongs to one of four levels, from healthiest to most serious; the result shows the highest level reached:
- Healthy — No problem, keep it up
- Caution — Be careful, say stop
- Cyberbullying — This is harassment — act on it
- Danger — You’re being harassed — ask for help
Where it comes from. It’s an adaptation written by Red or Green, based on the same graded principle. It doesn’t reproduce any official scale and should be read as an awareness tool, with no official standing.
Who to turn to, in addition to the emergency numbers (in France): 3020 — Non au harcèlement (school bullying helpline); 3018 — Net Écoute (cyberbullying helpline); 119 — Allô Enfance en Danger (children at risk); e-Enfance (protecting children online).
⚖️ Discrimination meter (Discriminomètre): measure the discrimination you face
A tool to identify the discriminatory behavior you may face in everyday life, from microaggressions to violence.
It lists 20 situations to check if you’ve experienced them. Each belongs to one of four levels, from healthiest to most serious; the result shows the highest level reached:
- Healthy — All good, carry on
- Watch out — Stay alert, don’t let it slide
- Discrimination — Say stop — this is discrimination
- Danger — You’re in danger — ask for help
Where it comes from. It’s an adaptation written by Red or Green, based on the same graded principle. It doesn’t reproduce any official scale and should be read as an awareness tool, with no official standing.
Who to turn to, in addition to the emergency numbers (in France): Défenseur des droits (independent rights ombudsman); SOS Racisme (anti-racism nonprofit); LICRA (international league against racism and antisemitism); SOS Homophobie (helpline against anti-LGBT hate); DILCRAH (government office against racism, antisemitism and anti-LGBT hate).
Red flag vs. violence meter: don’t mix them up
The site’s games are about red flags, and the term now gets used for everything from an annoying habit to dangerous behavior. The self-assessment tools are built for the far end of that scale. A red flag ranking measures players’ opinions, often tongue-in-cheek; a violence meter identifies violence. The flag guide explains the difference between a red flag and a black flag — the line past which there’s nothing left to debate.
If you are in danger (numbers for France)
- 3919 — Violences Femmes Info — national helpline for women facing violence, 24/7
- 119 — Children at risk (Allô Enfance en Danger) — 24/7
- 17 — Police and gendarmerie — emergencies
- 114 — Emergency number for deaf and hard-of-hearing people — by text message
Each tool’s sources, and their limits, are detailed on the Sources page.
Sources
- Le Violentomètre — Centre Hubertine Auclert (in French), 2018