Gisèle Pelicot: The survivor as an icon

“We are all Gisèle.” There has been an outpouring on the streets of France in support of 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot, who had been drugged and raped by her husband, Dominique Pelicot, and at least 50 others, in their home for over a decade. In an extraordinary act of courage, Ms. Pelicot waived anonymity and requested that the trial, which began early September, be made public.

She wants to raise awareness of the use of drugs to commit abuse, and as one of her lawyers said, hopes that “shame will change sides”. Spilling out of the chamber of horrors is the fact that Dominique Pelicot, 71, filmed Ms. Pelicot being sexually assaulted at least a 100 times as she lay in a drug-induced stupor; the evidence, thousands of photographs, was stored in Dominique Pelicot’s computer under the label ‘abuses’.

In her testimony, as reported in Le Monde, The Guardian and other newspapers, Ms. Pelicot said she “was sacrificed on the altar of vice” and treated “like a rag doll, like a garbage bag”. The assault came to light in 2020 after Dominique was caught filming up skirts of women, and the police searched his computer. Ms. Pelicot, who is since divorced but still uses her marriage name, said the discovery felt like everything she had built for five decades had fallen apart. In court, the husband pleaded guilty. “I put her to sleep, I offered her, and I filmed,” his lawyer quoted Dominique after his arrest. He had also filmed their daughter without her consent.

Trust was betrayed at so many levels, but nothing can be more appalling than the admission that between 2011 and 2020, at their home in Mazan in Provence, he crushed sleeping pills and anti-depressants, and mixed them in her evening meal or wine. Then, he invited men, contacted over an online chatroom, which has since shut down, to rape and sexually abuse her. There were dos and dont’s once the men entered the home — they couldn’t smell of deodorants or cigarette smoke.

Parents of three children and several grandchildren, the Pelicots were considered an “ideal couple”. Pointing out that she had no idea she was being drugged, Ms. Pelicot complained of neurological problems; doctors ruled out it was Alzheimer’s. She also suffered from gynaecological issues, suffering from sexually transmitted diseases.

Brave stand

But Ms. Pelicot’s brave stand of opening up her private nightmare to the public and her plaintive cry — “I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself” — has struck a chord among hundreds of women across the world. She has been hailed as a “feminist icon” and a “heroine”; there is a quiet dignity about Ms. Pelicot, in dark glasses, as she arrives and leaves the courtroom.

The trial is expected to go on till December; if convicted of aggravated rape, Dominique and the 50 others face 20 years in prison under French laws. Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Fondation des Femmes, has been quoted in the media seeking a “comprehensive law against sexist and sexual violence.”

French women have marched on the streets, holding up banners, saying, “Rapist we see you, victim we believe you.” It has raised yet again several questions about women’s bodies and autonomy, the lack of concern in society about rampant sexual violence, misogyny, patriarchal mindsets, a culture of rape and violence (India too has a pressing problem on all these counts).

The 50 men on trial, aged between 26 and 73, along with her husband include a local councillors, nurses, a firefighter and a civil servant, The Guardian reported, noting that many of them lived around Mazan, a close-knit town of about 6,000 inhabitants. . At least 30 more could not be identified.

Women activists have pointed out that with seemingly “ordinary” men carrying out such brazen acts, it shatters the myth of monster rapists. They are also seeking a change in how media covers rape. “Shame must change sides,” as the protest slogan says; and for that to happen, the alleged perpetrators should be called out, not the victim.

Misogyny has long roots, historian Mary Beard had traced in her book, Women & Power: A Manifesto, but every generation of women usually paves a better way for the next. Ms. Pelicot has done her bit; it is France’s turn to mend its abysmal record in stopping sexual abuse and a prevalent rape culture as women activists have underscored.