As the world watches the 51 men in the horrific rape case in France facing retribution for their crimes, we stand in solidarity with women across the world in thanking Gisèle Pelicot. Her bravery and selflessness in revoking her anonymity to help protect other women experiencing similar abuse in silence.
The president of France’s National Assembly has thanked Gisèle Pelicot for her “courage”. In a post on X, Yaël Braun-Pivet says Pelicot carries through her “the voice of so many victims”. “The world is no longer the same thanks to you,” she says.
During the trial some members of the crowds cried ‘shame has switched sides’. It was at a moment, a few weeks into the trial, when Gisèle Pelicot decided it was time to remove her sunglasses. She no longer needed to protect herself. She didn’t need the glasses. That moment was a way to show the slow transformation of a sincere, very humble person, who still felt very ashamed of what had happened to her who came to understand the uniqueness of her case. The video evidence meant it was not simply “the word of the victim against the word of the suspect”, and that she now had a rare opportunity “to change society”.
“I’m lucky to have the evidence. I have the proof, which is very rare. So, I have to go through [all this] to stand for all the victims.”
Perhaps one of the most shocking revelations for the global audience was the ‘normality’ of the perpetrators. Some married, some young, some older, some working for public bodies, some successful businessmen. Domestic abuse does not discriminate. Abusers are not always a dark figure lingering in the shadows, sometimes they are the very people we love and trust the most.
This case has helped many survivors realise this isn’t down to ‘us’ and that women in those scenarios ‘didn’t deserve’ to be treated like that. We need men more than ever to help us tackle this global emergency. We need to join forces to challenge the attitudes of men and educate boys about respect and consent – holding them accountable for the impact of their actions so that we can make this change together.
Consent happens when all people involved in any kind of sexual activity agree to take part by choice. They also need to have the freedom and capacity to make that choice. This was clearly not true in the case of Gisèle Pelicot and many other women who do not feel they have a voice that will be heard.
The issue of rape and violation against women is an emergency. We must act now to expose this silent assault against women and girls in our homes.
Gisèle Pelicot’s refusal to hold a closed trial so that ‘shame changes side’ is a service to society and a signal sent to millions of young girls and women to encourage them to no longer remain silent in the face of assaults, rapes and all forms of sexist and sexual violence.