“Let shame change sides,” asked the lawyer Gisèle Pelicot. A phrase that has become a motto of the feminist fight against sexual abuse. A war cry so that raped women stop shouldering the blame and the ones accused are the aggressors, the men.
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, is the victim of one of the most atrocious cases of sexual assault in recent history. For almost 10 years, from 2011 to 2020, she was raped by dozens of men after being drugged by her husband, Domique Pelicot, who publicized the attacks in internet chats and recorded them.
There are 92 proven rapes and 51 aggressors have been identified, including her husband Dominique. They all face each other up to 650 years in prison and this Thursday the sentence will be known at the end of a trial that began in September.
A trial for history
In an act of enormous bravery, Gisèle Pelicot waived her right to a closed-door trial and He chose to face his attackers to expose their identity and send a message to victims of sexual violence: “Shame is not for us, it is for them.”
Gisèle’s message has gone around the world and she has become a feminist icon inside and outside France. During the time that the trial has lasted, hundreds of women have shown their support at the doors of the Avignon court, where they have been received with applause and dozens of protest murals.
However, the protection of feminism has remained in the streets surrounding the court. Inside the room we have seen the revictimizing treatment of the defense during the interrogations, in which it has been suggested that Gisèle gave her consent or where the judge has referred to the rapes as “sexual acts”.
The attacks on Gisèle have been evident and the objective has been clear: to make her appear guilty of what happened. One more example that the judicial system still has a lot to advance from a gender perspective so that reparation for the victim is comprehensive.
They are not monsters, they are ordinary men
Another of the most controversial points of the case is the profile of the accused. Far from the image of the ‘monster’ that stalks women in dark alleys, the 51 men who raped Gisèle while she was unconscious – almost in a coma – are a reflection of French society, which has earned them the nickname Monsieur. Tout-Le-Monde (the ordinary man).
There are young, old, fat, thin, black and white. Firefighters, truck drivers, soldiers, security guards, a journalist and a DJ. Three quarters of them have children and half are married or have a partner. And then there is Dominique, a “good father” and husband much loved by his family. What is known as a “good guy.”
The psychologist who examined him concluded that has no mental problemsnor pathologies that prevent you from differentiating between what is good and what is bad. He has correct psycho-affective functioning and stable personal relationships. The expert assured that Dominique completely dehumanized his wife. He conceived of her as a mere object to satisfy his sexual needs.
The fact that the aggressors are very different from each otherwith different professions, origins and ages (from 21 to 74 years old), shows that there is no typical profile of men who commit sexual violence. The only two common characteristics between them are that they are men and that they contacted Pelicot through internet forums.
This was defended by 200 men of French culture in an article published in September in the newspaper ‘Libération’, where they demanded recognition that “male violence is a systematic reality”.
The signatories claimed to start from the recognition of the “systemic” nature of violence against women and the responsibility of all men. The reason is that “all men, without exception, benefit from a system that dominates women.”
‘Not all men, but always a man’
The magnitude of the Pelicot case has revealed the extent of sexist violence and rape culture. But when a case of gender violence like this becomes so viral, machismo always responds.
In this case, the reaction could be seen on networks, where many users using the hashtag ‘Not all men’ tried to profile the aggressors as ‘monsters’ and, therefore, show them as the exception. But the reality is that sexist violence is the normnot the exception, and is always carried out by men who, in most cases, belong to the victim’s environment. ‘Not all men, but always a man’.
France, facing the consent debate
France is assimilating these days the implications of his biggest rape trial and it can be a great opportunity to include consent in the law, as was the case in Spain with ‘La Manada’.
Currently the law defines rape as “any act of sexual penetration of any kind or any oral-genital act committed against another person by means of violence, compulsion, threat or surprise,” but the Pelicot case opens the door to a possible legislation reform to explicitly include consent in the definition of the crime of rape.
The exclusion of consent in French law also violates the Istanbul Convention, which requires countries to criminalize any sexual act without voluntary consent.
Although cases as macabre as that of Gisèle Pelicot exist, much of sexual violence is blurred by stigmatization and the victim’s fear of the aggressor and of not being believed. With her courage, Gisèle reminds us of the importance of fighting for justice in the absence of consent. Hopefully, this time, shame will change sides. And forever.
