A horrifying sexual assault case playing out in France is adding to a larger French reckoning over abuse toward women. One would think after a confession from the culprit and undeniable proof that a woman who was drugged and raped by her husband (as well as her husband also also inviting dozens of other men to consecutively rape his wife) will get quick justice in court. Sadly that’s not the case
Here’s everything we know about the abuse of Gisèle Pelicot
The ongoing case centers on 71-year-old Dominique Pelicot, who is accused of drugging and raping his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and inviting dozens of other men to sexually assault her while she was unconscious. Dominique Pelicot — who has confessed to raping his wife repeatedly over the course of a decade — is now on trial, along with over 50 other defendants, who are also accused of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. Some of these defendants have admitted guilt, while others have denied it.
Dominique Pelicot’s assaults on his wife were first discovered by police in November 2020, after he was initially investigated for taking photos of women’s skirts at a supermarket in southeastern France, where the couple lived.
After he was caught taking the photos, police searched Pelicot’s computer and found a folder titled “Abuses” on a related USB drive. In it, they discovered thousands of photos and videos of Pelicot and other men raping his wife while she was unconscious. “My world fell apart,” Gisèle Pelicot said after police informed her of their discovery.
During his testimony, Dominique Pelicot said he and all the men involved are guilty. Pelicot told the courtroom he had a difficult upbringing and had himself been a victim of rape, crying at times. He said he had wanted his wife to participate in partner swaps and her refusal, together with trauma from his youth, had helped to trigger his abusive behaviour. “I maintain that I am a rapist, like those in this room,” Dominique Pelicot said. “They all knew her condition before they came; they knew everything. They cannot say otherwise.”
Although she had the option of a private trial, Gisèle Pelicot decided to make the proceedings public in order to support and raise awareness for other victims of similar crimes. “I speak for all women who are drugged and don’t know about it, I do it on behalf of all women who will perhaps never know,” Gisèle Pelicot said of her case. In total, police have used roughly 20,000 images her husband took of the assaults to determine that 72 men had been involved in raping her from 2011 to 2020.
Gisele may not get justice going by current laws
French law currently defines rape as any sexual act committed “by violence, coercion, threat or surprise” and includes no explicit reference to the need to obtain consent.
The ongoing trial, due to run until December, has opened French eyes to the horror of chemical submission and to what appears to be a disturbing misunderstanding of what constitutes rape, as well as to the remarkable courage and dignity of a woman who decided to make her ordeal public.
