Mainz/Avignon (dpa) – The White Ring hopes for a learning effect from the rape trial in Avignon, France Germany. “Gisèle Pelicot is not only an admirably brave woman – we can agree with her without reservation when she demands: “Shame must change sides,” said the federal director of the victim protection organization, Bianca Biwer, in Mainz.
“Nobody has to be ashamed of having become a victim of a crime.” “Perpetrators are responsible for actions, never the victims,” emphasized Biwer. “I very much hope that this realization will finally reach the last doubters in Germany who still think that the clothing of a rape victim or the desire to separate from a femicide victim have something to do with the crime.”
Perhaps Pelicot's “fearless appearance” in public contributes to this, said Biwer. Femicide is the term for the killing of most women by their partner or ex-partner. But Biwer also emphasized: “Every victim of a crime who wants to protect their privacy and insists on anonymity should be allowed to do so.”
Verdict in the mammoth case is expected
The verdict in the mammoth trial in Avignon is expected on Thursday morning. The public prosecutor's office is demanding 20 years in prison for Dominique Pelicot and between 4 and 18 years in prison for the other defendants.
The 72-year-old Pelicot had confessed in the trial that he had repeatedly drugged his then-partner for almost ten years, abused her and offered strangers rape. Gisèle Pelicot believes she was raped around 200 times.
In addition to Dominique Pelicot, 50 men are on trial in Avignon. More than half of the accused demanded an acquittal.
