Abstract: A device enabling a person's fall to be braked and/or held comprising a body (2) bounding a channel (3) inside which a bearing surface (4) is formed and a swivelling component (6) comprising opposite arms (7, 8) fitted so as to swivel inside the channel (3) of the said body opposite the said bearing surface (4), with the said rope running between the bearing surface (4) and the swivelling component (6), the said rope, when it is stretched taut, making the swivelling component (6) swivel so that the cam-shaped outer profile (9) of its arm (7) moves towards the bearing surface (4) and presses the rope against this bearing surface (4).