Giséle Pelicot’s case is one of the most harrowing rape cases that has been covered and reported by the media. If you are one of the ‘special’ ones who have not heard of this criminal case, here is the case in a nutshell; Ms Pelicot learned that her husband allowed dozens of men into their house to sexually his wife who was in a comatose state. The case is now known as the Mazan mass rape.
The whole world is fuming with anger upon learning about this case, particularly women. Despite this tragedy, this 72-year-old grandmother takes the matter in a rather unconventional way that subsequently reverses the script of rape cases.
She Allows The Trial To Be Public
Most of the time, when someone is raped, they hide behind closed doors, feeling bogged down by shame, anger, defeat, self-blame etc. They shun themselves from society since that is the norm and the victims are usually shamed for what happened to them.
Take the Menendez brothers’ case as an example. When the public knew about the rape and sexual assault that occurred at the hands of their father, the media went into a circus mode. They made fun of their suffering and turned it into television shows and skits for the ‘haha’ moment.
It was brutal.
Giséle refused to take this road. Through her lawyer, she aims to put the shame where it belongs i.e. the rapists. Gisele’s lawyer insisted that their client wanted the videos to be shown. This is huge. This certainly sends a clear message to the public; if you hurt someone, you should be shamed for it.
Selfless Act For The Sake Of All Women
When she decided to make the trial to be publicised, she knew that she would invite public opinion. However, in the courtroom, things go way beyond hurtful opinions. Out of the many recordings, 9 videos and several photos were shown during the trial in the courtroom’s three flat screens. It was also projected into the overflow room for the public viewing of the horrendous animal act.
BBC report described one of the rape, “in near silence, a short, pale man wearing only blue underpants and black socks, could be seen approaching a bed. The camera wobbled as it followed him. Behind the man, a woman lay on her left side, almost naked, on a crumpled white sheet. And then, without edits, without any blurring, the sex acts began”. The report added, “at times, later in the video, you could clearly hear the woman snoring”.
Rape victims usually don’t want to view or revisit this dark moment, but Giséle insisted that everyone “look the rape straight in the eye”. This is painful but this is the pain that she is willing to inflict upon herself on a daily throughout the trial if it means that it would help other victims.
“…if the public nature of the debates means that other women don’t have to go through this, then the suffering she inflicts on herself every day will make sense,” said of one her lawyers.
Help People To Take Rape Crime Seriously And Victims To Be Treated Better
Most of the rape cases that I have read make my blood boils. Almost all of them have the same similar reaction by the public i.e. victims of rape are not taken seriously. People on the internet made fun of Giséle stating things such as, “I wouldn’t have an appetite to rape her, she’s too old”, or “She’s a grandmother, that’s not really appealing!”
However, one that struck a chord would be the statement from Loiuse Bonnet, the mayor of the city where this case happened. He said “no one was killed”.
That is just too much for victims to hear. That shows the gravity of how unserious people are treating rape cases in general.
A feminist writer and activist told the Guardian, “It’s an example of how men still struggle to understand what we face as women and that is the real problem. It’s the product of a society that fails to protect women or regard them as full human beings.”
Apart from not being taken seriously by the public, this case also brings to light the horrible and degrading treatment that victims faced during the trial. This is the reality that Giséle Pelicot is going through right now.
The Guardian reported that Giséle endures “humiliating questions” from defense lawyers about her clothes, her drinking habit and whether she granted the accused men her consent.
This made her feel confused as to who the real victim was. “With all the debates, I feel like I’m the guilty party and the 50 victims are behind me. In fact, they should be sitting in my place,”
It is no wonder that 80% of rape cases are dropped in France.
Addressing Hatred Towards Woman Out In The Public
The number of men who took part in this case is massive and it’s difficult for a normal and healthy mind to comprehend. However, this exposes one thing that most women have felt at least once throughout their lives i.e. hatred towards women.
Adrien L. is an example of this. He is the youngest of the accused. He self-avowed “hatred of women” after he was blamed for impregnating his then-girlfriend. The paternity proved otherwise. Despite his harsh upbringing from his overbearing father, his life is pretty much good. The local media called him “the golden boy”. His family’s business alone generated over 130 million euros.
After enduring the false accusation, he did not stop outwardly showing and acting on his hatred. However, he didn’t stop having relationships with women either. He was reported threatening to hurt the mother of his son. Additionally, he received a 14-year sentence for raping and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriends.
In this same point, one of Giséle lawyers was recorded saying, “They show that these were opportunistic rapes and, beyond that, it was a question of degrading, humiliating, and sullying, it was in reality a question of hatred of women” in their defense of why the tapes should be shown in court.
The worst part is that most of the accused men did not own up to their mistakes. Instead, they blame the husband. This led a psychiatrist to identify them with the same pattern of “Narcissism, a lack of self-confidence, a lack of empathy,” according to French media.
Does Marriage Mean Ownership?
This case raised the issue of a woman’s right to her own body. Do women lose their right to their bodies the moment they tie the knot?
In my countless research on this topic, I found one common theme spoken by the accused rapists which sounds something like this: The husband said “yes”, so I did it to her. This is a simplified statement, of course. But the main theme of ‘the right to body ownership’ seems to be handed to the husband.
Giséle, herself, questions this mindset in an interview with the Guardian. “When they see a woman sleeping on her bed, no one thought to ask themselves a question? Don’t they have brains? When does a husband decide for his wife?”
Ummni Khan, an associate professor of law and legal study at Carleton University questions the same thing. “The fact that there were so many men willing to engage in this atrocious assault and that their ages ranged from 20s to 70s, means that there is a pervasive belief that if a husband gives his consent to access his wife’s body, then you are entitled to commit rape. Under this ideology, a woman’s body, autonomy and agency — her very humanity — is simply an object of pleasure for the men. It’s terrifying. It’s a wake-up call,” said Khan to CBC News.
Conclusion
Writing this piece is not an easy journey especially when I know intimately what the victims are going through. When people shame victims, my heart breaks and I feel so much anger build up inside my heart. I strongly agreed when Giséle made the case public as a way to show that “Shame must change side”.
Image- tumblr/dirtyriver
