Not Ashamed – Juris Magazine

Photo Courtesy of https://unsplash.com/s/photos/sexual-assault

By: Kat Gingolaski, Staff Writer

The world was horrified when Gisèle Pélicot came forward and testified that for nearly a decade, her husband drugged her and invited at least 72 men into their home to rape her unconscious body.[2] Dominique Pélicot, Gisèle’s husband of over 50 years, was discovered when a supermarket security guard caught him taking pictures up women’s skirts in 2020.[3] During a search of his house, police discovered thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Gisèle while she lay unconscious.[4] Many of these men on trial deny raping Gisèle and some argue Dominique manipulated them, while others declare they believed Gisèle was consenting as part of a sexual game.[5] However, Dominique testified in open court that he, along with the dozens of other men on trial, knew exactly what they were doing.[6]

While the trial was suggested to be held behind closed doors to protect her privacy, Gisèle allowed the media to publish her full name and exhibit the videos of her rape recorded by her husband.[7] She stated her decision to remain public was done in solidarity with millions of other women who go unrecognized as victims of sexual violence.[8] Magali Lafourcade, a magistrate and secretary general of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights, applauded Gisèle’s decision, stating that nine out of 10 women who are victims of rape don’t press charges.[9] Studies further find that 80% of cases that are brought forward are dropped before trial.[10] The World Health Organization indicates that 30% of women worldwide has been subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.[11] On October 10, 2024, UNICEF released a study that more than 370 million girls and women alive today experience rape or sexual assault before the age of 18.[12] According to a RAINN statistic, out of every 1000 sexual assaults that occur, only 310 are reported to police and only 25 perpetrators will be incarcerated.[13]

Women across France gathered in cities across the country in September to support Gisèle as she sat and listened to the 50 defendants explain away their involvement in her assault.[14] However, Gisèle’s public support is not the experience of most survivors. Gisèle’s experience during her trial is different for two main reasons: (1) the massive amount of evidence of the crimes collected; and (2) her husband’s corroboration of her story.[15] Had Dominique testified that she was playing along or consented to the rapes, this would just be another “he said, she said,” stated co-founder of the advocacy group ‘Survivor Safety Matters’ and sexual assault survivor, Tayna Couch.[16] Her story would’ve been the same as hundreds of thousands of other women who survive sexual assault and aren’t believed. Like Cameron Vaughan, a 16-year-old girl who, after being sexually assaulted by 18-year-old Drew Clinton at a high school party, had to listen to the judge sentence him to time served and berate her for “swim[ming] in pools with [her] undergarments on.”[17] Or Chanel Miller, who watched her rapist, Brock Turner, be sentenced to six months (of which he only served three) after he raped her, as the judge thought a prison sentence “would have a severe impact on him.”[18]

Gisèle’s assaults also defy the widespread stereotype that women who are raped provoke their assailant or somehow lead them on.[19] She is a grandmother in her 70s who has faced repeated rapes over the course of over a decade. Gisèle Pélicot’s story and bravery have been noted worldwide as she proclaimed, “I am not ashamed. I’ve done nothing wrong . . . [t]hey are the ones that must be ashamed.”[20] She courageously testified while stoically handling questions about her sexual tendencies and insinuations that she consented to receiving sexually transmitted diseases from her attackers.[21] Since the trial began on September 2, 2024, Gisèle has bravely sat in the courtroom and stared into the eyes of each man who raped her – firefighters, journalists, nurses, prison guards, fathers, husbands, brothers.[22]

Dominique Pélicot and his 50 co-defendants face up to 20 years in prison if they are convicted at a trial that is expected to last until at least December.[23]

[1] https://unsplash.com/s/photos/sexual-assault

[2] On the witness stand, French man describes inviting dozens of men to rape his drugged wife for years | PBS News

[3] French man admits in court to drugging wife so he and others could rape her | AP News

[4] Id.

[5] Man accused of drugging wife so dozens of men could rape her testifies in French court : NPR

[6] On the witness stand, French man describes inviting dozens of men to rape his drugged wife for years | PBS News

[7] Gisèle Pélicot becomes France’s symbol of fight against sexual violence | AP News

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

[12] https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/over-370-million-girls-and-women-globally-subjected-rape-or-sexual-assault-children