Rallies in support of Gisèle Pelicot and victims of sexual violence were organized throughout France on Saturday, September 14, 2024. The associations hope that this extraordinary case, in which Dominique Pelicot is accused of having his wife raped by dozens of men for years, will finally make things change.
With our special correspondent in Paris,
” We want to bear witness to Gisele Pelicot and his family all our support, but also to unite our anger and make sure that things change. ” This was the message conveyed on Saturday, September 14, by the collective of associations and feminists who initiated the Parisian gathering in support of Gisèle Pelicot and, through her, all victims of sexual violence. During two hours of speeches punctuated by slogans such as ” rapist, we see you, victim, we believe you ” Or ” We are all Gisèle “, associations, activists, feminists, psychologists have called ” to a real surge in society “.
Since the beginning of the trial On September 2, this case in which a man, Dominique Pelicot, is accused of having, for nearly ten years, delivered his sleeping wife to dozens of men recruited on the Internet to rape her, became ” emblematic ” of the systemic and banal aspect of sexual violence.
” All the problems that associations have been denouncing for years are intertwined : domestic violence, control, impunity, incest, the fact that sexual violence is in the vast majority of cases committed by relatives “, recalls Blanche Sabbah, feminist activist and comic book author, who is one of the organizers of the event.
Also readSexual violence: in France, 86% of complaints closed without follow-up
Banality of evil
By refusing to hold her trial in camera, the victim, Gisèle Pelicot, wanted to confront society with the reality of sexual violence and ensure that ” Shame changes sides ” This was one of the slogans chanted by the large crowd that gradually filled the Place de la République, while dozens of rallies were held throughout France. The media coverage gave this extraordinary case exceptional coverage, since no fewer than 50 men are in the dock alongside Dominique Pelicot, and it is estimated that around thirty others are also involved in these rapes. Dozens of journalists are following the hearings every day – suspended since September 12, awaiting the return of the accused, ill –, and the international press also made the trip.
Through the profiles of Dominique Pelicot’s 50 co-defendants – firefighter, craftsman, journalist, doctor, etc. – this trial has also brought to light the terrible banality of sexual violence. This case shows once again that there is no typical profile of an aggressor. We must move away from the image of the monster “, stressed the journalist and influencer Anna Toumazoff, who had recalled in an article that the attackers are “ordinary people”: “ Old family friend, overzealous teacher, slimy colleague, familiar stranger, affectionate brother, disturbing ex… »
Seven years later the MeToo wavewhich led to the liberation of women’s speech, there is therefore still a lot of work to be done to really take into account the scourge of sexual violencethe activists intended to denounce. Because even today, impunity most often characterizes rape cases, while 94% of rape complaints were closed without follow-up in 2021, as recalled by Anne-Cécile Malifert, the president of the Fondation des femmes, who denounces ” a culture of rape deeply rooted in our country “And less than 1% of rapes result in a conviction,” pointed out journalist Giulia Foïs, who had recounted having been a victim of rape, while calling for ” do something with this rage “, which the Dominique Pelicot affair inspires in him.
” We will make this trial historic. »
Doing something is now what feminist advocates are calling for. This trial is historic, or at least we will make it historic. “, said Anne-Cécile Malifert. She hopes that “emotion and solidarity ” raised by this trial will “trigger a political response commensurate with the historic nature of this affair » and lead to the development of a « integral law » to change the « malfunctions at all levels »: police, judicial, political, societal.
While it highlighted the scourge of chemical submission, the Mazan trial also rekindled the debate on the legal definition of rape, and in particular the absence of concept of consent in French law. A lawyer for several defendants shocked the world this week by saying that “Without the intention to commit it, there is no rape “, some of the attackers arguing that they could not have known that Gisèle Pelicot was not consenting, since she was inert. “Rape is rape ! “, the activists responded today.
But “Changing the penal code will not be enough “, warns the president of the Women’s Foundation: ” We need to change the way investigations are conducted, make them systematic, change the way evidence is collected, stop investigating victims’ sexual pasts, better train judges… “She also asks for more resources: three billion euros in the 2024 budget to meet this immense challenge.
“I hope that this trial will be a landmark and that there will be a before and after, Blanche Sabbah abounds. We know that major trials have moved things forward and changed the law. “In 1978, Anne Tonglet and Araceli Castellano, two lesbian women victims of “corrective” rape and defended by the lawyer Me Gisèle Halimihad also accepted the publicity of the trial of their rapists. An unprecedented media coverage which resulted in rape being recognized as a crime.
Participants in the rally also discussed The case of the “pack” in Pamplona : five men had filmed themselves and boasted about raping an 18-year-old woman at a feria. At first instance, the rape was not recognized, the defendants arguing that they could not have known that she did not consent. This was followed by an angry movement and dozens of demonstrations, and a change in the law: since August 2022, in Spain, any sexual intercourse without explicit consent is considered rape.
Faced with the ” Not All Men “, a call for “a male feminist awakening »
Seven years after MeToo, it is also a “awareness and mobilization of society as a whole, not just feminists ” called by the organizers of the rally. Throughout the afternoon, the speakers also called on the men ” to rise up (…), to no longer remain passive at best “, while during the Pelicot trial, the famous slogan ” Not All Men » (« Not all men ” in French). ” A way of avoiding responsibility rather than facing the problem head on, regrets Anna Toumazoff who recalls : it is not just a women’s problem, it is a problem for everyone and for all of society. »
In a crowd that was mostly female, there were a few dozen people there to express their support for female victims, like Mathieu.As an ally, it is important to show that we are there, that we listen to them, that we understand them. This story is revealing of an entire patriarchal system that mistreats women, that rapes them and kills them with indifference “, believes the young man, for whom we must stop considering this affair as a news item: ” This is a real political fact that we have before us, and it must make us question our place as men, our way of understanding consent. “.
As for those who feel compelled to recall that “not all men “, Mathieu finds ” revolting and outrageous to still hear men making such remarks “. ” To say “Not All Men” is to not understand that it is a system that we are criticizing. Yes, all men must question themselves, because all men are likely to rape and all men must question themselves once and for all. »
Psychologist and activist Morgan Noam spoke directly to men during his speech.Because we are all the problem, we are all also part of the solution. “, he said, calling for a “male feminist awakening ” and men ” to take charge ” And the crowd chanted in response: ” Men at the shrink! Men at the shrink! »