CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP
Gisèle Pelicot’s choice to make the case public has elevated the trial to international significance
In the city of Avignon, judges will deliver verdicts on 51 men on Thursday in a mass rape trial that has transformed a 72-year-old woman into a feminist symbol.
For nearly a decade, Gisèle Pelicot was drugged by her ex-husband Dominique, who then arranged for numerous men he recruited online to have sexual relations with her while she was unconscious and unaware in her own bed at home.
Her decision to forgo her anonymity and bring this trial into the public eye – shifting “shame swap sides” from the victim to the perpetrator in her words.
While he has confessed to the accusations against him, most of the other men on trial deny that their actions constituted rape.
Prosecutors are seeking jail terms ranging from four to 20 years, the maximum sentence for aggravated rape.
One defendant, who has admitted to the charges, has criticized the trial as rushed and “botched”.
Activists argue that this case highlights the necessity of incorporating consent into France’s rape laws, as in other European nations.
What is the case all about?
From 2011 to 2020, Dominique Pelicot drugged his wife Gisèle with sedatives and sleeping pills without her knowledge, administered them by crushing them into powder and adding them to her food and beverages.
Gisèle Pelicot experienced memory loss and blackouts due to the drugs, losing a decade of her life.
He was eventually apprehended after a security guard reported him to the authorities for taking inappropriate photographs in a supermarket.
“I thought we were a close couple,” she stated in court. However, her husband was using a now-banned website to invite local men to their home to engage in sexual acts with her while she was unconscious.
“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice,” Gisèle Pelicot expressed early in the trial.
Since the beginning of September, Judge Roger Arata and his colleagues have heard how 50 men, now aged between 27 and 74, visited the Pelicots’ home in the village of Mazan.
Who are the accused?
Benoit PEYRUCQ/AFP
A court sketch shows Dominique Pelicot giving evidence in court
Dominique Pelicot has admitted to all the charges against him – drugging and raping his wife and enlisting multiple men to rape her. Prosecutors are seeking the maximum 20-year prison sentence for aggravated rape.
The other defendants come from various backgrounds, with most residing within a 50km radius of the Pelicots’ village of Mazan. Referred to as Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde (Mr. Everyman) because they are firefighters, security guards, and lorry drivers, many of them also have children.
Fifty of the 51 individuals are accused of aggravated rape and attempted rape.
Romain V, 63, faces 18 years in prison if found guilty, accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on six occasions despite knowing he was HIV-positive. His attorney argues that he could not have transmitted the infection due to extensive treatment.
Other defendants could potentially receive sentences ranging from 15 to 17 years, with prosecutors seeking jail terms of 10 to 14 years for 38 others.
Prior to the verdicts, one of the few men who has confessed to rape communicated through his daughter to the BBC that many had already formed opinions: “There was not enough time. For me, it was botched work.”
The average prison term for rape in France is 11.1 years, according to the French justice ministry.
One individual is accused of aggravated sexual assault rather than rape. Prosecutors suggest that Joseph C, a retired sports coach and grandfather of 69, should receive the lightest sentence of four years in prison.
While some have expressed remorse for their actions, many have not.
Cyril B apologized to Gisèle Pelicot.
“I’m ashamed of myself, I’m disgusted,” Jean-Pierre M stated this week. His lawyer hopes that his remorse will be taken into account by the judges.
What makes this case unusual?
This case has been unique in that it has been conducted publicly, with evidence against all the accused recorded on video by Dominique Pelicot and presented in court.
Gisèle Pelicot, now divorced from her husband, described the men as treating her like a “rag doll”. She emphasized that these were not mere “sex scenes” but scenes of rape.
As a result, none of the accused have been able to dispute the claim that they were present in Gisèle Pelicot’s room while she was unconscious.
Their defense has focused on the legal definition of rape, which currently involves any form of sexual penetration “by violence, coercion, threat, or surprise”. This necessitates prosecutors to establish intent to rape.
Public prosecutor Laure Chabaud asserted in court that it is no longer acceptable to argue that “since she did not speak up, she consented – that belongs to the past.”
Thousands of individuals have participated in demonstrations in support of Gisèle Pelicot in France. Women have gathered outside the court daily chanting the phrase her lawyers used in court: “Shame is changing sides.”
Why has Gisèle Pelicot become so important?
MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP
Murals in Avignon have emerged in solidarity with Gisèle Pelicot
Gisèle Pelicot has been present at nearly every day of the trial, arriving at the court just before nine o’clock wearing sunglasses.
Her decision to reveal her identity is highly uncommon, yet she has remained resolute throughout. CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP “Quiero que todas las mujeres que han sido violadas digan: Madame Pelicot lo hizo, yo también puedo.”
Pero ella ha sido clara en que detrás de su fachada de fortaleza “yace un campo de ruinas” y a pesar de la amplia aclamación por lo que ha hecho, es una heroína reacia.
“Ella sigue repitiendo, ‘Soy normal’, no quiere ser considerada como un ícono”, ha dicho su abogado Stéphane Babonneau a la BBC.
“Las mujeres en general tienen una fuerza en ellas que ni siquiera pueden imaginar y que tienen que confiar en sí mismas. Ese es su mensaje.”
Cómo este caso ha sacudido a Francia
Los abogados de los 51 acusados han destacado las vidas ordinarias que llevaban, aunque un psiquiatra designado por el tribunal, Laurent Layet, testificó que no eran ni ordinarios ni “monstruos”.
En las primeras semanas del juicio, el entonces alcalde del pueblo de Mazan dijo a la BBC que el caso podría haber sido mucho más grave ya que nadie murió.
Pero esos comentarios provocaron una indignación en toda Francia y el alcalde se disculpó rápidamente. Desde entonces ha dicho que se está retirando de la vida pública.
El hecho de que el juicio se haya celebrado en público ha significado que cada sesión se haya informado detalladamente y en detalle.
Elsa Labouret del grupo activista Dare to be Feminist le dijo a la BBC: “[Gisèle Pelicot] decidió hacer esto más grande que ella misma. Hacer que se trate de la forma en que tratamos la violencia sexual como sociedad.”
“