How the Pelicot case affects France

Karine, 51 years old, teacher, currently on leave

One cannot help but be overwhelmed by the monstrous nature of these acts. I read a lot about the case and, in addition to the actual crime, what horrified me was the perpetrators' lack of guilt. Many defendants have testified that they assumed that the husband's consent was enough to be allowed to rape his wife.

I believe that such crimes can happen anywhere and at any time, of course not only in France. It didn't really surprise me that the rapists were just normal men. The monsters are almost always “Messieurs Tout-le-monde”. There is still a very patriarchal way of thinking in our society. And this is not just a question of education. I've also talked to my students about this and found that many have difficulty with the concept of mutual consent in sexual acts. On the other hand, there is natural progress among the younger generations, many are more enlightened than their parents.

And yet we still have so much to do. How is it that we are still debating whether the way a woman dresses is appropriate? Maybe a skirt is too short? There is always the assumption that the victim could have provoked his rape. I come from a generation where sexual assault was not necessarily viewed as a crime. It was normal for someone to put their hands on your thighs without asking permission first.

I would like to believe that the Mazan trial made a difference. I'm skeptical about this, but it would be desirable that something good comes from dealing with these crimes. I admire Gisèle Pelicot and hope that her courage, her strength to make everything public was not in vain. France must definitely tighten its sexual criminal laws, as Spain has done, for example. We're not long where we need to be.

Alice Cordier, 27 years old, “right-wing feminist”

When I first heard about the case, one thing particularly shocked me. Dominique Pelicot is said to have said that he wanted to punish his wife for her racism and that he therefore had her raped by men who had been racially discriminated against. That seemed crazy to me. (Editor's note: According to a psychiatric report, Dominique Pelicot is said to have said that he was particularly excited by inviting dark-skinned and Arab people to his home. However, the majority of the accused men are white.)

As more details emerged, I felt anger and hatred for these men. Then I told myself that of course not all men are like that. There are many good men who know how to stay strong in the face of their impulses. That's why my image of men hasn't changed through the process. But platforms like the one where the rapists had arranged to meet are a problem. There are plenty of pornographic websites that show videos of certain sexual practices that resemble rape.

Men are more violent than women, that's a biological fact. But we live in a civilization, and to me civilization means that men learn to control their urges. If men already have difficulty controlling themselves, such websites act like Pandora's Box. The men are literally “decivilized”. In this respect, I would like the process to also lead to stricter regulation of pornography and a better understanding of the connection between porn consumption and violence against women.

Certain areas of pornography, I believe, contribute to rape culture. Where women pretend to be asleep or drunk or forced to have sex. And then there's the fact that porn can be addictive. Then perhaps the moment will come at some point when a classic porn film is no longer enough and you look for something illegal and perverse on the Internet. I don't see how we can remain a civilized society if we continue to allow this type of content.

And then, of course, there is the problem that some men seem to believe that they can sexually assault a woman if their husband allows it. It's like in the Middle Ages, when a man believes that he can feed his wife, and when other men believe that it is normal to abuse her without being sure that the woman has given her consent. I would like to see high punishments for the rapists. I would be happy if Monsieur Pelicot received an unlimited life sentence. There are so-called life sentences, but after twenty years the rapists get out. I would like to see a real life sentence to send the clear message: No, you cannot prostitute your wife. No, you can't let her rape you like that.

Benjamin, 44 years old, research assistant

At first, for me this case was just one of many “faits diverse” (mixed messages). I was disgusted, but I didn't look into the topic any further. Maybe I was already jaded, like so many of us. But then I realized something: These crimes were only discovered by chance because Pelicot was caught filming women up their skirts in the supermarket. That means no one could have noticed and this man could have continued like this forever. In other words, there are probably other Pelicots out there that we don't know about. When I realized this, I was completely horrified.

That's why for me it's much more than just a “fait divers”, it's about a fundamental crisis in our society that allows something like this to happen. It's about the unfair relationship between men and women, about power and violence against women. Some people have responded to X and Tiktok with the “Pas tous les hommes” (Not all men) campaign. But I found that weak. In the end, something like this just means that we men don't have to think about what fundamentally needs to change. It makes sense that not all men are rapists.

Mazan is definitely a turning point. There were demonstrations all over the country, and privately the case left no one unmoved anyway. We discussed it a lot in my family and my circle of friends. Only the reactions from politicians have disappointed me so far. The surface was only scratched. But I think, unlike #MeToo, where France quickly went back to the agenda, this time something will move in the long term.

Amandine Boiteux, 41 years old, IT project manager

My first reaction was disgust, disgust to the point of nausea. I also briefly wondered whether this was fake news. Then I remembered the gang rapes in the basements of the suburbs where young girls were raped. I thought of the film “Accused” with Jodie Foster. Or a Jane Campion series “Top of the Lake” in which children are drugged and raped. This is all based on true events. I also remembered my own childhood, where I was a victim of sexual abuse.

Then I tried not to read and watch too much because it was too stressful for me. I was also annoyed by the reporting, which was sometimes very sensationalistic. . . A trial is a trial, and it may seem unfair, but that's the way it is: the defendants have the right to defend themselves, and the lawyers defend their clients by downplaying the facts. This is how our justice system works.

There is a tendency for the justice system to blame victims and make them suffer a second ordeal. That was also the reason why I never filed a complaint in my own case, I didn't have time to do so until I was 38, and then I resigned myself to not digging up the past, to leaving it where it is , like the majority of abuse victims.

I think this trial showed people what it means to be a victim of sexual abuse in France and what it is like to go through such a trial. What I would like to see is a change in the way these court cases are handled. I would like reports to be better received by the police and that victims would be better prepared for this type of process. And above all, that people dare to make their voices heard and report it. This is still too rarely the case.