Like many others, I have been watching the trial of Gisele Pelicot’s former husband along with dozens of other men accused of raping her. The trial began in September.
She says that her life collapsed when she was shown the videos in the police station that showed how he had drugged her and invited strangers into their home to rape her whilst she was unconscious. For the 10 years her husband was drugging her, she had unexplained neurological symptoms as well as gynaecological issues. He took her to GP appointments knowing what he was doing to her.
She has chosen to waive her anonymity because she wants to change things for other women. She says that she is not brave but has the will and determination to change society. She says that the shame is for the perpetrators to hold. She insisted that the videos should be shown in court to ensure that they could not hide from what they had done.
The defence being offered for some of the men involved is appalling, saying that they believed that the husband could consent on her behalf, that it was role play and that she was not asleep. What has shocked so many people are the sheer number of men involved in the case – 50 men are on trial, 33 more could not be identified. The men involved cover a huge age range from 26 to 74 years of age and all kinds of professions, they are the normal, everyday men that lived nearby and would have seen her regularly. Not one of them, even the ones who turned away, called the police to report what was happening to her. But perhaps most disturbingly, is that this case shows just how many men will commit rape if they think that they can get away with it.
Click on www.wmrsasc.org.uk to make a referral, donation or learn more about the work that we do to support survivors.