The verdict is expected on 19 December in the Mazan rape trial, which made Gisele Pelicot a feminist hero at home and abroad. For almost a decade, she was drugged by her now ex- husband Dominique so that he and strangers he recruited online could rape her. In the ranks of feminist associations and civil parties, hopes are high that this extraordinary trial will shake up the issue of consent and, perhaps, the very definition of rape in France.
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00:00Giselle Pellicot receives applause and support every time she appears in court for the mass
00:09rape trial that has shocked the world.
00:12She was unknowingly drugged over the course of a decade by her now ex-husband Dominique
00:16Pellicot, who enlisted dozens of strangers he recruited online to rape and abuse her.
00:22Giselle has become a feminist icon, refusing to be ashamed and demanding the trial be open
00:28to the public.
00:52The case has become a symbol of sexual violence and has attracted the world's attention.
00:58The BBC even named Giselle one of the 100 most influential women of 2024.
01:28Dominique and 50 other men are on trial, aged between 26 and 74 years, coming from all different
01:42backgrounds.
01:43Dominique had filmed the assaults of his wife and documented them with meticulous precision
01:47on a hard drive in a folder labelled abuse, leading the police to track down the 50 other
01:53men.
01:58Giselle's husband had a strict protocol for the men, arrive at night, undress in the kitchen,
02:26warm their hands before stepping quietly into the bedroom and whispering so as not to wake
02:30the victim, who was drugged and unconscious.
02:57Dominique has confessed to the rape, and has described himself as a rapist.
03:16Only a minority of the other defendants have admitted to the rape charges.
03:20Many have said that they believed they were taking part in the fantasies of a swinger
03:24or that they didn't realise that the victim was unconscious.
03:45Prosecutors have sought 4 to 18 years in prison for 49 of the 50 other co-defendants,
03:51and have demanded a maximum 20-year jail term for Dominique.
03:55The public prosecutor hopes that the trial will mark a before and after,
03:59and French society seems to be proving her right.
04:05Some men have begun to self-reflect.
04:08Like Sammy, whose name has been changed to protect his identity.
04:11He attended the opening of the trial, has followed it in the media,
04:14and is now part of an association that works to prevent sexist and sexual abuse.
04:19Sammy has admitted to committing sexual violence.
04:49For Noëlla Boujny-Dubois, founder of the Our Allies Men platform,
04:54which provides feminist and educational content for men, this is a historic moment.
05:20Tens of thousands have demonstrated in major cities across France
05:30against violence targeting women, pushing for the country to learn from the case.
05:36The French government has also announced a series of campaigns to combat violence against women,
05:41such as reimbursement for the purchase of drug detection kits
05:44in several parts of the country on a trial basis.
05:49This is an entire mobilization of the whole of society.
05:55It is a challenge for society.
05:57It is a fair and necessary fight.
05:59I have seen, I salute the mobilization of all associations,
06:03of citizens, of territorial collectivities,
06:07of state services, of course,
06:09on the whole of the territory,
06:11in particular in recent days,
06:13but also since the beginning of the Imazan trial,
06:17I am convinced that it will somehow mark a before and after in this struggle.
06:24Legal experts have hoped that the trial would provide an opportunity
06:27to include the notion of consent into the definition of rape in French law.
06:31The absence of consent should first result from the refusal of women,
06:35from the no of women,
06:37or from the absence of yes of women.
06:39And that's not what the law tells us.
06:41The refusal of women or the silence of women has no effect on the law,
06:45if it is corroborated by a form of violence, constraint, threat or surprise.
06:49And that is what we are trying to change with other jurists,
06:53magistrates, university students, lawyers and associative activists.
06:57At the trial, Gisèle said she would never be able to forgive her abuser.
07:03Her daughter and two sons have also expressed their devastation.
07:07Gisèle has said that she now hopes that the way people look at rape will change.
07:13I was deeply touched by this momentum that gives me a responsibility.
07:17Thanks to all of you, I have the strength to lead this fight to the end.
07:23This fight that I dedicate to all people, women and men,
07:27who around the world are victims of sexual violence.
07:31To all these victims, I want to tell them today,
07:35look around you, you are not alone.
07:43Thank you very much.