The past few months have seen the world’s attention turn to the Gisèle Pelicot rape trial. Dominique Pelicot, Madame Pelicot’s husband, and another 51 men are currently on trial for perpetrating over 200 rapes of Madame Pelicot whilst she was drugged and unconscious, over a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020.
Dominique Pelicot has admitted to the charges, telling the court: “I am a rapist.” Only 14 of the other men charged have admitted to rape, however, the majority deny the charges saying they had not “intended” to do it, or believed Dominique when he informed them Madame Pelicot enjoyed this form of sexual activity.
The trial has sent shockwaves around the world, and rightly so. Such horrific, deplorable, crimes are unspeakable in nature. I myself struggle to read the trial coverage and talk about it with friends. Nevertheless, whilst these crimes may be unspeakable, Madame Pelicot refuses for them to go unheard. Her strength, determination, and resilience throughout the entire ordeal have earned her a level of respect and admiration that has inspired and encouraged women to stand up against their abusers and fight for drastic legal and cultural change.
Currently, French law defines rape as “any act of sexual penetration of any kind whatsoever, or any oral-genital act committed … by violence, coercion, threat, or surprise.” However, lawyer Guillaume de Palma, who is defending six of the accused, argued in court that “without the intention to commit it, there is no rape.” Proof of intent is required. Vogel, a member of the French Greens, believes that this defence won’t land, but she nonetheless emphasises that this justification highlights a desperate need for law reform to include consent in legal definitions of rape. Where consent is a crucial, fundamental, factor in cases of sexual assault in the UK, in France the law is starkly different and thus victims are left with fewer legal protections and are subject to greater scrutiny at trial. Thankfully, the New Justice Minister Didier Migaud has already said that he is in favour of rewriting the legal definition of rape in France to include consent.
Madame Pelicot’s resistance and strength has empowered women to speak out across both France and the world, changing the narrative surrounding rape and sexual assault, emphasising, in her own words, that “when you’re raped there is shame, and it’s not for us to have shame, it’s for them.” Madame Pelicot is committed to using her trauma not simply as an example of bravery, but to determinedly “change society.” Unsure how she will spend the remainder of her life recovering from this trauma, Madame Pelicot’s desperate suffering has nevertheless become a tale not just of cruel violence, but one of feminist heroism that may have the power to change attitudes to assault not just in France, but across the world. Madame Gisele Pelicot, you’re my hero.
“Gisèle Pelicot portrait ” by W.carter is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.