From Mazan to New York, the Pelicot relationship breaks the silence on rape

From September 2, 2024, this journalist from the New York daily and 60 international colleagues – out of the 150 accredited in total – have come to the court of Avignon in the south-east of France to to cover an issue whose echoes go beyond the borders of France. France.

In the courtroom where horror rubs shoulders with the unspeakable, the test of a patriarchal society takes place where the bodies of ordinary women are controlled. At the center of the debates is Dominique Pelicot, who is retiring at the age of 71, who was tried for having stopped his wife Gisèle Pelicot, of the same age, before raping her with strangers who went recruit on the internet.

Fifty men between 26 and 74, including one HIV positive, most of them perfectly integrated into society, invited to Pelicot’s matrimonial home in Mazan to commit the crime done under the camera of the patriarch of the family.

A woman “completely destroyed”but standing

The scenes expected at the hearing will shed light on the severity of the events that took place between 2011 and 2020. They will show a completely amorphous victim, under the influence of high doses of anxiety – sometimes to the point of near death according to medical information. knowledge – at the mercy of these strangers.

“Honestly, if she didn’t snore, you’d think she was dead.referring to journalist Louise Colcombet, who is covering the trial for The Parisian. In total, according to French media, 4,000 photos and videos were found on Dominique Pelicot’s electronic media.

Clichés that Gisèle Pelicot has no idea about. “I don’t recognize myself”she announced in October 2020 when she learned from the police how much abuse her husband of 50 years of marriage had committed. It also took him another four years to be able to watch the videos.

Evidence she wanted to show publicly at the hearing to do so “Let every woman who has suffered rape say to themselves that Madame Pelicot did it, we can do it”. “I am a totally destroyed woman”she looks at the end of October, before adding: “I don’t want them (the victims) to be ashamed now.

Deep social tools

While the testimonials continue on the stand until December 20, Gisèle Pelicot is celebrated around the world. His decision to lift the closed session and his decision against defensive tactics that are sometimes endless is welcomed.

“It seems that I am the culprit and there are 50 victims behind me, I understand why the victims are not filing complaints.she went back to an opposing attorney.

“It is not just another news item, there is something universal in the story of Gisèle Pelicot. “celebrating Catherine Porter as the streets of Brooklyn are now decorated with messages of support for this mother of three.

In addition to what the image of the accused – ordinary individuals who do not fit the cliché of the isolated predator – reveals about rape, the case reveals ideas such as: consent, “forced opportunity” or even “chemical input”. So many terms show that coercion comes from deep social mechanisms related to control and opportunity, but which so often goes unpunished.