Shift The Shame: French Rape Survivor Gisèle Pelicot Wants The World To See The Men Who Assaulted Her

'Gisèle Pelicot Thinks Shock Wave Necessary,' Says Her Attorney

Gisèle Pelicot's case came to the forefront last month and she immediately grabbed headlines for her decision to forego anonymity and come out with her full name. Maintaining the anonymity of the victims and going by another name is a norm in rape cases in many countries like France and India.

However, if survivors or a deceased victim's family members think otherwise, the real name and face might be made public. In this case, Pelicot showed immense bravery and grit, revealed her identity, and now wants the public to see the brutality she endured for all these years at the hands of her ex-husband and the men he invited into their home. She is not “ashamed”. Why would she be anyway? Rape is not a woman’s failure, it’s the man’s. And Pelicot establishes this narrative once and for all with her conduct this time.

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One of the 71-year-old's lawyers told The Associated Press that "Pelicot thinks that this shock wave is necessary," and that the public display of the assaults would stand as an example for the nation.

"It's a unique case: we don't have one representation of rape. We have dozens, hundreds of videos of a rape...Gisèle Pelicot thinks that this shock wave is necessary so that no one can say after this: 'I didn't know this was rape'," said the attorney, Stéphane Babonneau.

In the ruling, Judge Roger Arata in Avignon (southern France) stated that "people of a sensitive disposition and minors" would be permitted to leave before the images and video evidence get screened.

Gisèle Pelicot Smashes Societal Imagery Of Rape 'Victims'

Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband and allegedly the main culprit, Dominique Pelicot, admitted to the crime and now faces 20 years in jail. He reportedly met these men in online chatrooms and invited them over to abuse her.

As per The Guardian, Ms. Pelicot testified, “I was sacrificed on the altar of vice...They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.” But that didn't deter her from fighting for justice.

She didn't feel apologetic, embarrassed, or helpless, like how rape victims are represented in images. When you search for such phtoos on Google, they are all of women who are coiled up in a corner, scared and traumatised, while a man’s closed fist dangles in front. The imagery is such that the man has power over the woman. Rape is not that. Rape doesn’t make a woman “defenceless.” Every woman puts up a fight, some survive, some don’t.

Back home, there were over 31,000 cases reported in 2022, which paints a grim picture. And the media doesn’t make it any better. Starting from headlines, images, to follow-up stories, the focus remains on how to make it more sensational by implying that a woman should own her rape. Hardly any headline or story is about humiliating the man or men who commit the heinous crime.

Pelicot is one of the few women in the world to smash the status quo and show that it's the man or perpetrator who should be ashamed of their act and not the woman. And that's why her name will go down in history.

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Credits: Reuters