PARIS (AP) — Women and men demonstrated together in Paris and other French cities Saturday in support of Gisèle Pélicot and against sexual violence, highlighted by the harrowing trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men prosecuted for rape while deliberately drugged was and knocked unconscious.
The demonstrations outside the Paris criminal court, in the southeastern city of Lyon and elsewhere underlined how Pélicot’s courage to speak out about her ordeal is inspiring people in France and beyond, even as they are shocked by the scale and brutality of the abuse she suffered undergo. over a decade ago.
Since the start of the extraordinary trial on September 2, in which Pélicot has confronted 51 of her alleged rapists, she has been praised for her calm and decision to hold the hearings in public – after the court initially proposed holding them behind closed doors.
“She has decided to make it an emblematic process,” said Elsa Labouret, one of the demonstrators in Paris and spokesperson for the women’s group “Osez le féminisme!” (Dare to be feminist!)
“Victims don’t have to do what she did. They have the right to have their anonymity protected. It is not necessarily the duty of any victim. But what she decided to do is very, very important because now we cannot ignore the violence that some men can resort to,” she said.
The protesters denounced what they said was the French justice system’s laxity on sexual violence and the fear of being raped and attacked, which they said stalked women day in and day out.
The signs they held up read: “Shame Must Switch Sides,” “Stop the Denial,” “Not Your Punching Bag” and “We are all Gisele.” Are you all Dominique???”
Dominique Pélicot admitted at trial that for nearly a decade he had repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her as she lay unconscious in bed.
He told the court that he had also raped Gisèle and that the fifty other men who were also on trial understood exactly what they were doing. She has been separated from him since his arrest. The trial is expected to last until December.
The suspects range in age from 26 to 74 years old. Many of them deny raping Gisèle Pélicot, saying her then-husband manipulated them or that they thought she consented.
“You can never know who is a rapist or who is a monster. For example, it could be your neighbor, it could be anyone,” said Parisian protester Khalil Ndiaye, a student.
“It’s really disgusting somehow to think that it could be people you know, people you interact with every day, who could do things like that.”
He said he considers Gisèle Pélicot an icon.
“Because despite her pain, she decided not to give up and not just lie down,” he said. “She decided to fight. And we are all here today because she fights and she inspires us to fight too.
