Why Gisèle Pelicot, who is at the center of France’s shocking mass rape trial, is called a hero

WARNING: This article may apply to people who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has.

It’s not unusual for Gisèle Pelicot to be like this welcomed with applause as he passes through the courthouse in Avignon in the south of France.

In the midst of a terrifying mass rape trial against her husband and 50 other accused men, 72-year-old Pelicot is called feminist heroineinspiring thousands of marches, rallies and actions law reform to French rape law to include consent for the first time.

Her husband, Dominique Pelicot, admitted to inviting dozens of strangers to his home for almost 10 years to rape her after he drugged her unconscious.

Gisèle Pelicot was praised for her courage, not only for surviving this ordeal, but also for giving up the right to anonymityand she composure in court, where she firmly states that men – not her – should be ashamed of themselves.

And now Pelicot has done it took a stand For the second time in the trial, which began on September 2, her words were shared in the media and on social media platforms, including: people are even starting petitions on the internet to be chosen as Time magazine’s Person of the Year or to receive an award Nobel Peace Prize.

Sexual violence experts and advocates say yes changing the discourse about rape, and Pelicot herself stated that she was “determined to change the situation in this society”.

“I decided not to be ashamed. I didn’t do anything wrong… They are the ones who need to be ashamed of themselves,” Pelicot said on Wednesday.

This flips the script on the history of victim blaming and shaming often seen with sexual assault survivors, said Bailey Reid, CEO of Ottawa-based sexual violence prevention program The Spark Strategy.

“Survivors often feel like they should be ashamed of what happened to them and that they should blame themselves in some way,” Reid told CBC News.

“By appearing publicly and calling out perpetrators, Gisèle Pelicot shifts shame from the victim – who is blamed on patriarchy and rape culture – to the perpetrators,” said Ummni Khan, an associate professor in the faculty of law and legal studies at Carleton University in Ottawa.

“Instead, she asserts her strength as a survivor, indeed as a hero, on behalf of women in France and around the world.”

Men who apologized in an ‘trying to justify themselves’

Over the past few weeks, the court heard that Pelicot and her husband of 50 years had been living in a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence. In 2020, a security agent caught Dominique Pelicot taking photos of women’s skirts in a supermarket, prompting investigators to search his phone and computer.

They found thousands of photos and videos of men raping Pelicot in her home while she appeared unconscious. Investigative police found messages that Dominique Pelicot sent on a communication portal commonly used by criminals, in which he encouraged men to sexually abuse his wife.

Dominique Pelicot pleaded guilty and maintains that the 50 men standing next to him in court understood exactly what they were doing. The defendants are between 26 and 74 years old.

“It challenges myths about sexual violence, including the belief that you can be safe at home and the idea that rapists are monsters rather than neighbors and community members,” said Khan, who studies gender, sexuality and law. “Her willingness to sit back and listen to perpetrators try to make excuses shows incredible courage.”

Despite video evidence against them, at least 35 defendants have denied the rape allegations, saying Dominique Pelicot deceived them by making them believe they were engaged in a sex game or that his wife was pretending to sleep. Only a few confessed to raping Pelicot, and some apologized, which she does not accept.

“By apologizing, they are trying to justify themselves,” Pelicot said Wednesday.

She also testified how “incredibly brutal” it was for her that many of the defendants at the trial said they believed she consented to the rapes or faked sleep.

“For me they are rapists and they remain rapists. Rape is rape… Of course, today I don’t feel responsible for anything. Today, first and foremost, I am a victim… We need to make progress on rape culture in society.”

The husband’s confirmation makes the case unique

Tanya Couch, co-founder of the support group Survivor Safety Matters and a sexual assault survivor herself, told CBC News she agrees that Pelicot is definitely a hero and that going public with her story is an act of incredible vulnerability.

“Without her brave and selfless act, we would not have had this insight into how these ‘normal’ men behave behind closed doors,” said Couch, a resident of the Greater Toronto Area.

However, she emphasized that this type of social support and support for Pelicot is not the experience of most survivors. Pelicot’s case has two factors that set it apart from most other sexual assault cases, she said: police evidence and her husband’s corroboration of her story.

“The bottom line is that women are not believed,” Couch said.

Last year, French authorities registered 114,000 victims of sexual violence, including more than 25,000 reported rapes. But experts say most rapes go unreported due to lack of tangible evidence: About 80 percent of women do not press charges, and 80 percent of those who do choose not to pursue the case.

Also in Canada, most sexual assault cases are not reported to the police, according to the Department of Justice. Notes that between 2017 and 2022, the number of police-reported sexual assaults increased by 38 percent Statistics Canada. In 2022, just 31 percent of sexual assault cases were resolved through a charge or recommendation from the police.

This year, Canadian police classified 10,028 cases of sexual assault as “insufficient evidence to prosecute or recommend prosecution,” accounting for 30 per cent of all police-reported sexual assaults, according to a 2024 study. Statistics Canada Report.

“The public dares to support Gisèle because her husband has confirmed his actions. If he had said she consented to it, that she was having fun, as most men accused of sexual assault do, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Couch said. “It would just be a he-said, she-said thing.”

Reid of The Spark Strategy stated that she believes that every person who has experienced sexual violence is incredibly brave – regardless of whether they choose to tell anyone at all – and that while Pelicot’s messages challenging shame and stigma are powerful, it is important to support and believe all victims.

“If we all started with this simple step, we could all become feminist heroes,” she said.

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Help is available for anyone who has experienced sexual violence through crisis lines and local support services through Canadian Ending Violence Association Database. ​​

Help is available to anyone affected by domestic or intimate partner violence through: crisis lines and local support services. ​​

If you are in immediate danger or concerned for your safety or the safety of others nearby, call 911.