Judge in Appalling Rape Trial Shocks France After Allowing Public to Witness Video Evidence for the First Time
Gisèle Pelicot appealed the previous court's decision in the southern French city of Avignon, allowing the public to witness video evidence (Flickr)
The judge ruling over Gisèle Pelicot’s mass rape trial, which has captivated France, allowed the public to view videos and images for the first time in the courtroom on Friday, October 4. This decision marked a reversal of Judge Roger Arata’s previous decision to restrict the public and journalists from witnessing the graphic videos. According to BBC, Gisèle insisted that the public witness the acts committed against her while she was unconscious, with her legal team arguing that people should “look the rape straight in the eye.”
Judge Roger Arata had initially argued that video and picture evidence of the rapes were too graphic for the public to witness, allowing only the jury and lawyers access to the footage. Yet, reports the Guardian, Gisèle successfully appealed his decision to make sure “no other woman suffers this.” Judge Arate established that the showing of the videos would prove evidence of the incident, presenting photos and nine videos of the rapes to the public for nearly an hour, per Der Spiegel.
According to Le Monde, over a period of nine years, Gisèle’s ex-husband Dominique repeatedly drugged Gisèle with anti-anxiety medication and facilitated nearly 200 instances of rape by fifty men, including Dominique himself. Dominique filmed these encounters with strangers he invited over to have intercourse with Gisèle while she was unconscious. Dominique kept the recordings in a hard drive labeled “abuse,” which captured Gisèle unconscious and, at times, snoring, while men raped her on camera, reports BBC. This evidence contradicts many of the men’s claims that she was awake during these encounters.
The men accused of raping Gisèle, including a man the court named Vincent C, described how Dominique told them she was a partner in a consensual sex game where they would attempt to wake her up. According to AP News, Some of the defendants claimed that Dominique forced or tricked them into having intercourse. Other defendants argued that Dominique’s consent on Gisèle’s behalf was adequate, sparking controversy regarding men making decisions about the consent of women. The Economist writes that Dominique pleaded guilty to charges of rape, saying, “I am a rapist.” The fifty accused men, aged between 26 and 74, lead ordinary lives and include a carpenter, nurse, firefighter, and journalist.
Gisèle’s case has sparked a resurgence in significant concerns with France’s laws concerning rape. According to DW, France’s laws require evidence of an effort of resistance to constitute rape. Gisèle’s inability to resist because she was unconscious has therefore caused contention in the legal definition of rape. Per the Economist, French law defines rape to be the committing of sexual acts “by violence, coercion, threat or surprise,” which seems to overlook the issue of consent entirely. Justice Minister Didier Miguad expressed openness to incorporate the concept of consent into French law.
Reuters reports that feminist groups have called for nearly thirty protests in cities like Marseille and Paris from September through October, gatherings that will continue until the trial’s verdict in December. Not just members of feminist organizations, but many French people are astounded that ordinary citizens committed these heinous acts. Gisèle’s case has brought about a national reckoning over the importance of consent that is likely to ripple through French law and consciousness for years to come.