Judges in the French city of Avignon will hand down verdicts on 51 men on Thursday in a mass violation trial that has turned a 72-year-elderly woman into a feminist icon.
For almost a decade, Gisèle Pelicot was drugged by her ex-husprohibitd Dominique, who then seekd dozens of men he had recruited online to have relations with her in her bed at home while she was unincreateed and unincreateed.
It was her decision to waive her anonymity and throw this trial into the uncover – in her words, making “shame swap sides” from the victim to the rapist.
Although he confesss the accuses agetst him, most of the other men on trial refute what they did was violation.
Prosecutors have asked for jail sentences ranging from four years to 20 years, the peak sentence for a accuse of exacerbated violation.
One of the deffinishants, who has confessted the accuses, has shelp the trial was rushed and “botched”.
Campaigners say this case shows the insist for consent to be built into France’s violation laws, as in other European countries.
What is the case is all about?
From 2011 to 2020, Dominique Pelicot plied his wife with tranquilising substances and sleeping pills without her understandledge, crushed them into powder and compriseed them to her food and drink.
Gisèle Pelicot suffered memory loss and bincreateageouts becaparticipate of the substances and she has spoken of 10 years of her life that have been lost.
He was eventupartner caught becaparticipate a security defend telled him to police for taking pboilingographs under women’s skirts in a supertaget.
“I thought we were a shut couple,” she once telderly the court. Instead, her husprohibitd was going on a notorious but now prohibitned website called Coco.fr to seek local men to their home to have relations with her while she was comatose.
“I was give upd on the altar of vice,” Gisèle Pelicot shelp punctual in the trial.
Since the commence of September, Judge Roger Arata and his four colleagues have heard how 50 men, now aged between 27 and 74, visited the Pelicots’ home in the village of Mazan.
Who are the accparticipated?
Dominique Pelicot has confessted all the accuses agetst him – drugging and raping his wife and recruiting dozens of men to violation her. Prosecutors want the appraises to hand him the peak 20-year jail term for exacerbated violation.
“I am a rapist,” he has telderly the appraises. “I acunderstandledge all the facts [of the case] in their entirety.” He has begged his ex-wife and three children for forgiveness, but his actions have torn the Pelicot family apart.
The other deffinishants come from all walks of life and most of them are from a 50km (30-mile) radius of the Pelicots’ village of Mazan. The fact they are firefighters, security defends and lorry drivers has geted them the name Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde (Mr Everyman). Most of them have children too.
Fifty of the 51 are accparticipated of exacerbated violation and tryed violation.
Romain V, 63, is facing 18 years in prison if create culpable. He is accparticipated of raping Gisèle Pelicot on six split occasions while understanding he was HIV-selectimistic. His lawyer says he could not have passed on the infection as he had years of treatment.
Another 10 men could face sentences of 15-17 years, and prosecutors are seeking jail terms of 10-14 years for 38 of the others.
Ahead of the verdicts, one of the confineed men who has confessted violation telderly the BBC thraw his daughter that many people had made up their minds right away: “There was not enough time. For me it was botched labor.”
The mediocre jail term for violation in France is 11.1 years, according to the French equitableice ministry.
One man is accparticipated of exacerbated relationsual attack rather than violation. Prosecutors say Joseph C, a reexhausted sports coach and magnificentobeseher of 69, should face the weightlessest sentence of four years in prison.
Some of them have apologised for their behaviour, but many have not.
Cyril B shelp he was sorry to Gisèle Pelicot.
“I’m ashamed of myself, I’m disgusted,” shelp Jean-Pierre M this week. His lawyer hoped that the appraises would apshow account of his contrition.
What produces this case rare?
Not only has this case been held in filled see of the uncover, but the evidence agetst all the accparticipated was enrolled on video by Dominique Pelicot at the time and then carry outed out in court.
Gisèle Pelicot, who has divorced her husprohibitd, shelp the men “treated me enjoy a rag doll”. “Don’t talk to me about relations scenes. These are violation scenes,” she shelp.
Therefore none of those accparticipated has been able to contest the allegation that they were in Gisèle Pelicot’s room while she was comatose.
Their defence has relied on the definition of violation, becaparticipate it currently take parts any benevolent of relationsual penetration “by structureility, force, danger, or surpelevate”. That unbenevolents prosecutors must show intent to violation.
Public prosecutor Laure Chabaud telderly the court that no-one could say any more that “since she didn’t say anyleang, she gave her consent – that beextfinisheds to a bygone age”.
Thousands of people have combineed protests in help of Gisèle Pelicot in France. And women have stood outside the court every day chanting one of the phrases her lawyers shelp in court: “Shame is changing sides.”
Why has Gisèle Pelicot become so meaningful?
Gisèle Pelicot has joined almost every day of the trial, materializeing at the court in her sunglasses equitable before nine o’clock.
Her decision to waive her anonymity is highly rare, but she has stood firm at every moment. “I want all women who have been violationd to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too.”
But she has been evident that behind her facade of strength “lies a field of ruins” and despite the expansivespread acclaim for what she has done, she is a unwilling hero.
“She defends repeating, ‘I am common,’ she does not want to be pondered as an icon,” her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau has telderly the BBC’s Emma Barnett.
“Women generpartner have a strength in them that they can’t even envision and that they have to count on themselves. That’s her message.”
How this case has shaken France
Lawyers for the 51 deffinishants have highweightlessed the standard dwells they led, although a court-nominateed psychiatrist Laurent Layet testified that they were neither standard nor “monsters”.
In the punctual weeks of the trial, the then mayor of the village of Mazan telderly the BBC that the case could have been far more solemn as nobody died.
But those retags promoted an outcry apass France and the mayor rapidly apologised. He has since shelp he is retreating from uncover life.
The fact the trial has been held in uncover has unbenevolentt every session has been telled at length and in detail.
Elsa Labouret of activist group Dare to be Feminist telderly the BBC: “[Gisèle Pelicot] determined to produce this hugeger than herself. To produce this about the way we, as a society, treat relationsual structureility.”
