A Decade of Horror: How a horrifying rape case roils France

Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had her drugged and assaulted sexually by dozens for a decade.

The shocking case of sexual assault by Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot sends France into an uproar and instigates a wider debate on women abuse. The story of Gisèle is one of unimaginable betrayal and violation: having to find out that her husband was drugging her and sexually assaulting her for a decade, and even worse, allowing other men to do the same.

Gisèle Pelicot enters the courthouse during the trial of her ex-husband
Gisèle Pelicot enters the courthouse during the trial of her ex-husband. AFP


Public stand against sexual violence

Dominique Pelicot, 71, pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping his wife over a decade, but that is not the worst part of it. He has also been accused of inviting dozens of other men into their home to assault her when she was unconscious. Today, he is standing trial along with 50 other men, charged with sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. A few have confessed, while others deny involvement. Although allowed a private trial, Gisèle chose to wave that right and the trial was public. She wants to raise awareness about this kind of abuse, and to provide a voice for all those victims who will never even know what has happened to them.

"I speak in the name of all women who are being drugged without being aware of it, in the name of all women who perhaps will never be aware," Gisèle said. The extremity of the suffering was documented in more than 20,000 images that police recovered, documenting assaults by 72 men between 2011 and 2020. The affair creates an outcry in France, whose public opinion is already profoundly troubled by recent revelations of sexual misbehavior scandals, just after the #MeToo movement met a certain lack of success in the French entertainment world. But for a few months now, it has regained momentum.

Voices of women like actor and director Judith Godrèche, who have spoken up about abuse, helped fuel this shift. "French attitudes toward morality and sex have historically always been different to the US, but it's been brewing for years and it feels that 2024 is different," said journalist Agnès Poirier.

A Decade of Unspeakable Betrayal

The abuses came to light in November 2020 when Dominique was caught taking inappropriate photos of women at a supermarket. During the police search of his computer, they found one folder entitled "Abuses" containing thousands of images and videos documenting the horrid assaults. The nightmare for Gisèle didn't end there; she had long suspected that something was wrong.

The years passed by, and she has struggled with patchy memories, unexplained weight loss, and even feared she was developing Alzheimer's. Little did she know that her husband had been drugging her with a sedative called Temesta and inviting men from some illicit messaging board to assault her.

"My world fell apart," Gisèle said afterward, when the police finally showed her what they'd uncovered. She lived in an unconscious nightmare, being manipulated and abused by her husband where she was at her most helpless. The men, most of them unknown to her, were instructed by Dominique on how to carry out the attacks without her knowledge, such as not wearing perfume or smoking so that she would not be in a position to detect them.

The shock deepened when police found naked photos of Dominique and Gisèle's daughter, Caroline Darian, on his computer. Caroline, just like her mother, has courageously taken to the stand to testify about the horror that her father inflicted on their family.

A Fearful Assize

The trial has been emotionally exhausting, as Gisèle and Caroline testified with great impact. Gisèle recalled the horror of seeing the photos and videos and how her husband and others had dealt with her. "Honestly, these are grotesque scenes to me," she said, recounting the brutal documentation of the assaults. "They treat me like a rag doll."

This case has shattered Gisèle's perception of her 50-year marriage, which she once believed was close and loving. Dominique, on the other hand, has confessed to his crimes and even admitted to a psychologist that he was driven by his wife’s refusal to engage in swinging, or open relationships. For Gisèle, however, this case is about showing that survivors of abuse should not be shamed into silence.

She has spoken out publicly-a conscious decision, to make the point that anonymity is the last thing her attackers would have wanted.

Her daughter, Caroline, spoke of her own anguish, labeling her father "the worst sexual predator of the last 20 years." They both grapple with what happened and what it has done to them. "I don't longer have an identity. … I don't know if I ever will rebuild myself," Gisèle lamented. The trial, at the time of this writing, remains ongoing with charges of aggravated rape and attempted rape against the defendants; most of them, if convicted, could face up to 20 years in prison. It will continue until December, when each group of the defendants was testifying.

The Case's Impact on France's Broader Struggles

The case has shed even further light on sexual abuse in France, given a number of recent revelations about sexual misconduct in Fra nce's film industry. Since February, a spate of high-profile actresses, including Judith Godrèche, has spoken about being sexually assaulted by directors as teenagers. Godrèche's speech at the César Awards - France's version of the Oscars - garnered a standing ovation, an indicator that attitudes in France are beginning to shift.

For years, the #MeToo movement in France was seen by some as a puritanical import from the US. Events over recent weeks suggest a more general cultural shift is underway, with more women coming forward and demanding consequences. According to French journalist Rokhaya Diallo, in a column in the Washington Post, the backlash to Godrèche's speech could prove to be a sign that France is now ready for this reckoning. The country has also been slow to embrace the #MeToo movement compared with the US, but now the momentum appears to be gathering. Women's rights activists want a change in French law, too. Among the key demands: adding the word "consent" to France's legal definition of rape. For now, the French law describes rape as "an act of sexual penetration… committed on a person, with violence, coercion, threat, or surprise."

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed support for changing it-a move that will have massive implications on the future of how sexual violence cases are considered by the courts. Yet, as historian Laura Frader observed, the younger generation of feminists and their male allies do push for change, and the Pelicot case is bound to accelerate the movement. "The Pelicot case is certain to contribute to this trend," Frader said. This case, joined by so many, has underlined how vital it is that sexual violence be outed and that the perpetrators be brought to book. For Gisèle Pelicot, it was about having a voice and standing up for those who cannot; for France, though, it might be a turning point on how it addresses such deep-seated issues.

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