Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Gisèle took a seat in a French courtroom in a green patterned dress, her eyes shielded by dark glasses. Her husband of 50 years, Dominique Pelicot, is on trial for drugging her and then raping her; he also invited dozens of men via an online chatroom into their home to rape her while she was unconscious, filming the abuse that took place over nearly a decade. Gisèle was unaware of the rapes until four years ago, when police found images on Pelicot’s computer after several women complained he was filming up their skirts in a supermarket. Fifty-one men in total, including Pelicot, are now on trial in Avignon, ranging in age from 26 to 74. The NYT says several of the accused said they did not believe it was rape as her husband could consent for them both. “If that’s the conception of consent in sexual matters in 2024, then we have a lot, a lot, a lot of work to do,” her lawyer said. In French law, rape is defined as “sexual penetration, committed against another person by violence, constraint, threat or surprise.” Women’s rights groups want the law to be amended to say all sex without consent is rape.
