Pelicot trial: ‘There’s no such thing as ordinary, accidental, involuntary rape’
Analysis
Prosecutors in France’s mass rape trial denounced the “casualness” of defendants who claimed their rape of Gisèle Pelicot was unintentional as they wrapped up their case on Wednesday, requesting lengthy jail terms and calls for a wider societal reckoning with the scourge of sex abuse and rape.
Issued on: 27/11/2024
By: Benjamin DODMAN
FRANCE24/AFP
Gisèle Pelicot is congratulated by women outside the Avignon courthouse after prosecutors concluded their case against her former husband and 50 co-defendants on November 27, 2024. © Christophe Simon, AFP
FIRST PICTURE OF HER SMILING
As she wound up her marathon closing speech, a painstaking summary of the decade-long horror inflicted on Gisèle Pelicot, the public prosecutor paused to reflect on the wider significance of the drama unfolding in Avignon.
For three consecutive days, Laure Chabaud had laid out the verdicts and punishments sought for dozens of men accused of raping Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband Dominique, her partner of 50 years, whom she has since divorced.
Chabaud and her fellow prosecutor called for a maximum 20-year prison sentence for the ex-husband, who has admitted enlisting dozens of strangers online to rape his sedated wife. They also sought jail terms of between 10 and 18 years for 49 co-defendants, and a four-year sentence for the last of the accused.
Such a verdict would “deliver a message of hope to all victims of sexual violence”, Chabaud told the court in southern France on Wednesday as she sought to draw lessons from the most notorious rape trial in modern French history.
As she wound up her marathon closing speech, a painstaking summary of the decade-long horror inflicted on Gisèle Pelicot, the public prosecutor paused to reflect on the wider significance of the drama unfolding in Avignon.
For three consecutive days, Laure Chabaud had laid out the verdicts and punishments sought for dozens of men accused of raping Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband Dominique, her partner of 50 years, whom she has since divorced.
Chabaud and her fellow prosecutor called for a maximum 20-year prison sentence for the ex-husband, who has admitted enlisting dozens of strangers online to rape his sedated wife. They also sought jail terms of between 10 and 18 years for 49 co-defendants, and a four-year sentence for the last of the accused.
Such a verdict would “deliver a message of hope to all victims of sexual violence”, Chabaud told the court in southern France on Wednesday as she sought to draw lessons from the most notorious rape trial in modern French history.
03:01
“With your verdict, you will make clear that there is no such thing as ordinary rape; that there is no such thing as accidental or involuntary rape,” she said. “You will send a message to the women of this country that it is not inevitable that they should suffer, and to the men of this country that it is not inevitable that they should act.”
‘A rape is a rape’
Stretching over three days, the prosecution’s closing statement mirrored the extraordinary nature of a trial that has roiled France since early September and made headlines around the world.
The affaire Mazan, after the small town in Provence where the Pelicot couple lived, has sparked horror, protests and debates about male violence and the shortcomings of French laws on rape. It has also made Gisèle Pelicot an international feminist icon and champion of women’s fight against sexual abuse.
Waiving her right to anonymity, Pelicot pushed for graphic images that her husband filmed of the rapes to be presented in the courtroom, showing that she was unconscious and inert, sometimes audibly snoring. In their closing arguments, the prosecutors praised her courage and her desire to make shame change sides, so it falls on rapists and not their victims.
Read more
Gisèle Pelicot slams 'macho' society that 'trivialises rape' in closing statement
Throughout the trial, feminist campaigners have plastered the walls of Avignon with messages of support for Pelicot and of condemnation for the accused men and the wider “rape culture” they have come to symbolise. Some of the messages quoted the defendants, who told the court they raped “unwillingly”, out of “curiosity” or “fatigue”, acting through “my body, not my brain”.
Some of the accused have faced boos and jeers from members of the public lining up outside the courthouse. Banners hung opposite the building this week read “20 years for each of them” and “a rape is a rape”.
Throughout the trial, feminist campaigners have plastered the walls of Avignon with messages of support for Pelicot and of condemnation for the accused men and the wider “rape culture” they have come to symbolise. Some of the messages quoted the defendants, who told the court they raped “unwillingly”, out of “curiosity” or “fatigue”, acting through “my body, not my brain”.
Some of the accused have faced boos and jeers from members of the public lining up outside the courthouse. Banners hung opposite the building this week read “20 years for each of them” and “a rape is a rape”.
Gisèle Pelicot and her lawyers walk past a banner reading "A rape is a rape, 20 years for each" near the courthouse in Avignon on November 26, 2024.
© Alexandre Dimou, Reuters
Devil’s advocate
Kicking off closing arguments by some 30 defence lawyers, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told the court on Wednesday that her client had “accepted and admitted the harm of which he is accused”.
Zavarro, who described herself as the “Devil’s adocate”, recalled that Dominique Pelicot had been a “good husband, father and grandfather” according to all who knew him. She plunged back into his traumatic childhood – which he claims included sexual abuse – and shaky mental state to explain his “perversity”, while also insisting that he was not the “conductor” many of his co-defendants painted him as – an accusation their lawyers are expected to pursue as they deliver their closing remarks from Thursday.
While Zavarro said she was not surprised by the 20-year sentence requested for her client, several other defence lawyers have described the demands as “staggering” and “out of proportion”, alleging that prosecutors were under pressure from “public opinion”. Most defence lawyers are expected to argue that their clients were manipulated by Gisèle Pelicot’s former husband.
According to government figures, between 2017 and 2022 more than two thirds of convictions for aggravated rape led to prison sentences of 10 years or above.
Read more
‘I was convinced it was a game': Defendants begin testifying at Pelicot rape trial gripping France
In previous testimony, many of the accused said they believed Dominique Pelicot's claim that they were participating in a libertine fantasy, in which his wife had consented to sexual contact and was only pretending to be asleep. Others said they thought the husband’s consent would be enough. More than half also argued that they were not in their right minds when they abused Gisèle Pelicot, a claim not backed up by any of the psychological reports compiled by court-appointed experts.
Dominique Pelicot had previously told the court that all of his co-defendants understood exactly what they were doing when he invited them to his home in Provence between 2011 and 2020 to have sex with his unconscious and unwitting wife.
A watershed moment
In her closing arguments, prosecutor Chabaud lamented the “inappropriate casualness” displayed by some of the defendants during the proceedings. She said claims they had “no intention” of raping Gisèle Pelicot would not make their responsibility “disappear”.
“In 2024, we can no longer say ‘she didn’t say anything, she agreed’, that’s from another era,” Chabaud told the court. She hoped that the sentences handed down at the verdict, due no later than December 20, would lead the defendants to “a real and profound awareness” of their actions, “particularly with regard to the notion of consent”.
In previous testimony, many of the accused said they believed Dominique Pelicot's claim that they were participating in a libertine fantasy, in which his wife had consented to sexual contact and was only pretending to be asleep. Others said they thought the husband’s consent would be enough. More than half also argued that they were not in their right minds when they abused Gisèle Pelicot, a claim not backed up by any of the psychological reports compiled by court-appointed experts.
Dominique Pelicot had previously told the court that all of his co-defendants understood exactly what they were doing when he invited them to his home in Provence between 2011 and 2020 to have sex with his unconscious and unwitting wife.
A watershed moment
In her closing arguments, prosecutor Chabaud lamented the “inappropriate casualness” displayed by some of the defendants during the proceedings. She said claims they had “no intention” of raping Gisèle Pelicot would not make their responsibility “disappear”.
“In 2024, we can no longer say ‘she didn’t say anything, she agreed’, that’s from another era,” Chabaud told the court. She hoped that the sentences handed down at the verdict, due no later than December 20, would lead the defendants to “a real and profound awareness” of their actions, “particularly with regard to the notion of consent”.
12:52
THE 51 PERCENT © FRANCE 24
The public prosecutor expressed hopes that the landmark trial would herald a fundamental change in society, describing the proceedings in Avignon as “a stone in the edifice that others after us will continue to build”.
“There will be a before and an after” this trial, Chabaud said in a phrase also used on Monday by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, whose government unveiled new measures to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
The trial has notably given fresh impetus to calls to introduce the notion of consent in French laws governing sexual abuse. Several lawmakers were in Avignon to attend the court hearings this week, including Green MP Marie-Charlotte Garin, the deputy head of a parliamentary fact-finding mission tasked with redefining rape in French criminal law.
Catherine Le Magueresse, a former president of the European Association Against Violence toward Women in the Workplace, said the Pelicot trial had highlighted the need to "come up with a positive definition of consent”. Speaking to AFP, she commended the prosecutors for their concern “to reach out to a wider audience and provide the legal elements needed to understand the issues at stake in this trial, particularly on the question of intentionality, which lies at the heart of the defendants' strategies”.
Le Magueresse said Gisèle Pelicot’s ordeal highlighted the need to provide sex education in schools and rethink the way we approach relations between women and men.
“The Pelicot trial has affected every one of us and raised difficult questions about the social attitudes of some men,” she said. “What have we done wrong as a society to produce men who are capable of such inhumane behaviour?”
France unveils new measures to protect women in wake of Pelicot affair
Analysis
France announced on Monday a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.
Issued on: 26/11/2024 -
By: Anne ICLINKAS
Expanded system for filing complaints in hospitals
The French government also announced the expansion of the system enabling female victims of violence to file a complaint in a hospital with an emergency or gynaecology department.
While this system, whereby the hospital itself contacts the police or the public prosecutor's office to lodge a complaint, is already available in many French hospitals, it will be extended to 377 facilities by the end of 2025.
“Hospitals and doctors are often the first professionals that women go to, sometimes even before the police ... It is therefore essential that the police come directly to the hospital so that a complaint can be lodged,” added Gunbay, who advocates these systems that “effectively facilitate the victim's journey” and calls for “continued training of police, justice and health professionals”.
Increased universal emergency aid
Günbay also welcomed the increase in universal emergency aid to help victims of domestic violence and support them when they leave their homes.
The budget for this aid will increase from €13 million in the 2024 finance bill (projet de loi sur les finances, or PLF) to €20 million in the 2025 PLF, according to the government. This measure has benefitted 33,000 people, who have received an average of €800, since it was launched at the end of 2023.
“It's a one-off helping hand that's much in demand by the women we support in their dealings with the CAF [Caisses d'Allocations Familiales, the French government agencies responsible for distributing various social benefits and allowances to families], but it doesn't get them out of the violent situation,” said Günbay. The director of Solidarité Femmes nonetheless welcomed the announcement of these measures, “which are nothing new to the associations, but which are more in line with what has been thought out and undertaken as part of the Grenelle [governmental-level consultations] and ministerial plans”.
The government's plan also calls for every French regional department to have a specialised women's centre by the end of 2025.
‘€2.6 billion are needed for a real plan to combat discrimination’
In total, “we have managed to obtain a 10 percent increase in the budget” devoted to gender equality, which has risen to €85.1 million (€+7.7 million) in the PLF 2025, Secretary of State Salima Saa said during an interview on French public radio network Franceinfo on Monday morning.
But the budget increase still falls far short of what is needed for the associations, which are calling for a total budget of €2.6 billion per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace the current legislation, which they deem “fragmented and incomplete”.
“We, the feminist associations, are asking for [this total sum] to combat all forms of violence against women. This includes the issue of prevention from a young age, training for professionals, psycho-trauma centres and shelters for women and their children. The €85 million will not be enough. We need €2.6 billion to be able to really combat the problem,” said Günbay.
The director of Solidarités Femmes said she is very worried about the drop in funding for local authorities, which also finance associations in their area. “In addition to this budgetary ‘women's rights’ envelope, our associations receive funding from local authorities on a departmental and regional level as well as from the local authorities, municipalities, etc. As a result, we have several associations in our network that are in a very precarious economic situation. I just learned this very morning [Monday] that a post funded by the Pays de la Loire region [in western France] had been cut. It was an essential post, because it enabled us to coordinate with a large number of associations across the region.”
“We'll only consider the fight against violence against women to be a major national cause once we have €2.6 billion designated to combat violence against women,” said Günbay, who is now waiting for the "welcomed" but "insufficient" governmental measures to be implemented.
With AFP and Reuters
This article has been translated from the original in French by Mariamne Everett.
Analysis
France announced on Monday a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.
Issued on: 26/11/2024 -
By: Anne ICLINKAS
FRANCE24/AFP
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier (R) speaks with medical staff during a visit to a women's shelter in Paris on November 25, 2024 as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. © Dimitar Dilkof, AFP
The French government announced on Monday, November 25 new measures to combat violence against women, including state-funded test kits, the ability to file complaints at more hospitals and increased emergency aid.
Speaking at the Hôtel-Dieu public hospital in Paris’s 4th arrondissement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier promised that “there will not be any tolerance for violence against women” and said that “more needs to be done”.
“These last months the French have been deeply moved by the incredible courage of Gisèle Pelicot,” said Barnier, referring to the mass rape trial that has sent shockwaves across France and beyond. Dominique Pelicot is on trial for raping and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated, now ex-wife Gisèle for almost a decade in the southeastern French village of Mazan, where the couple lived and where most of the events took place.
To combat the “as yet little-known issue of chemical submission”, Barnier announced that the French national health insurance programme will be providing state-funded test kits in several regions on a trial basis. No timetable has yet been defined for this initiative.
A campaign to raise awareness of chemical submission will also be spearheaded by the M'endors pas (Don't sedate me) association co-founded by Gisèle Pelicot's daughter and the helpline of France's Reference centre for substance-facilitated aggression (Centre de référence sur les agressions facilitées par les substances) in partnership with the French Order of Pharmacists.
In October, the government entrusted a similar mission to Senator Véronique Guillotin, of the centrist Radical Movement party, and MP Sandrine Josso, of the centre-right Democratic Movement party. The latter recommended that pharmacies be allowed to issue a “morning-after" test kit via medical prescription to women who think they may have been drugged. Contained in the kit would be urine sample bottles, useful addresses and full instructions on how to access the results, to be used as evidence.
“We feel that the [Pelicot] trial has raised awareness of this type of violence,” said Mine Günbay, director general of the national federation Solidarité Femmes (Women’s Solidarity), who has noted a significant increase in women calling 3919, the national number dedicated to female victims of violence. “Women are speaking out,” said Günbay. “It's very important that a parliamentary report be written up and that resources also be made available to deal with this issue.”
The security services recorded 271,000 victims of domestic violence in 2023, according to the French interior ministry. This type of violence accounted for 93% of the calls handled by 3919.
The French government announced on Monday, November 25 new measures to combat violence against women, including state-funded test kits, the ability to file complaints at more hospitals and increased emergency aid.
Speaking at the Hôtel-Dieu public hospital in Paris’s 4th arrondissement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier promised that “there will not be any tolerance for violence against women” and said that “more needs to be done”.
“These last months the French have been deeply moved by the incredible courage of Gisèle Pelicot,” said Barnier, referring to the mass rape trial that has sent shockwaves across France and beyond. Dominique Pelicot is on trial for raping and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated, now ex-wife Gisèle for almost a decade in the southeastern French village of Mazan, where the couple lived and where most of the events took place.
To combat the “as yet little-known issue of chemical submission”, Barnier announced that the French national health insurance programme will be providing state-funded test kits in several regions on a trial basis. No timetable has yet been defined for this initiative.
A campaign to raise awareness of chemical submission will also be spearheaded by the M'endors pas (Don't sedate me) association co-founded by Gisèle Pelicot's daughter and the helpline of France's Reference centre for substance-facilitated aggression (Centre de référence sur les agressions facilitées par les substances) in partnership with the French Order of Pharmacists.
In October, the government entrusted a similar mission to Senator Véronique Guillotin, of the centrist Radical Movement party, and MP Sandrine Josso, of the centre-right Democratic Movement party. The latter recommended that pharmacies be allowed to issue a “morning-after" test kit via medical prescription to women who think they may have been drugged. Contained in the kit would be urine sample bottles, useful addresses and full instructions on how to access the results, to be used as evidence.
“We feel that the [Pelicot] trial has raised awareness of this type of violence,” said Mine Günbay, director general of the national federation Solidarité Femmes (Women’s Solidarity), who has noted a significant increase in women calling 3919, the national number dedicated to female victims of violence. “Women are speaking out,” said Günbay. “It's very important that a parliamentary report be written up and that resources also be made available to deal with this issue.”
The security services recorded 271,000 victims of domestic violence in 2023, according to the French interior ministry. This type of violence accounted for 93% of the calls handled by 3919.
Expanded system for filing complaints in hospitals
The French government also announced the expansion of the system enabling female victims of violence to file a complaint in a hospital with an emergency or gynaecology department.
While this system, whereby the hospital itself contacts the police or the public prosecutor's office to lodge a complaint, is already available in many French hospitals, it will be extended to 377 facilities by the end of 2025.
“Hospitals and doctors are often the first professionals that women go to, sometimes even before the police ... It is therefore essential that the police come directly to the hospital so that a complaint can be lodged,” added Gunbay, who advocates these systems that “effectively facilitate the victim's journey” and calls for “continued training of police, justice and health professionals”.
Increased universal emergency aid
Günbay also welcomed the increase in universal emergency aid to help victims of domestic violence and support them when they leave their homes.
The budget for this aid will increase from €13 million in the 2024 finance bill (projet de loi sur les finances, or PLF) to €20 million in the 2025 PLF, according to the government. This measure has benefitted 33,000 people, who have received an average of €800, since it was launched at the end of 2023.
“It's a one-off helping hand that's much in demand by the women we support in their dealings with the CAF [Caisses d'Allocations Familiales, the French government agencies responsible for distributing various social benefits and allowances to families], but it doesn't get them out of the violent situation,” said Günbay. The director of Solidarité Femmes nonetheless welcomed the announcement of these measures, “which are nothing new to the associations, but which are more in line with what has been thought out and undertaken as part of the Grenelle [governmental-level consultations] and ministerial plans”.
The government's plan also calls for every French regional department to have a specialised women's centre by the end of 2025.
‘€2.6 billion are needed for a real plan to combat discrimination’
In total, “we have managed to obtain a 10 percent increase in the budget” devoted to gender equality, which has risen to €85.1 million (€+7.7 million) in the PLF 2025, Secretary of State Salima Saa said during an interview on French public radio network Franceinfo on Monday morning.
But the budget increase still falls far short of what is needed for the associations, which are calling for a total budget of €2.6 billion per year and a “comprehensive framework law” to replace the current legislation, which they deem “fragmented and incomplete”.
“We, the feminist associations, are asking for [this total sum] to combat all forms of violence against women. This includes the issue of prevention from a young age, training for professionals, psycho-trauma centres and shelters for women and their children. The €85 million will not be enough. We need €2.6 billion to be able to really combat the problem,” said Günbay.
The director of Solidarités Femmes said she is very worried about the drop in funding for local authorities, which also finance associations in their area. “In addition to this budgetary ‘women's rights’ envelope, our associations receive funding from local authorities on a departmental and regional level as well as from the local authorities, municipalities, etc. As a result, we have several associations in our network that are in a very precarious economic situation. I just learned this very morning [Monday] that a post funded by the Pays de la Loire region [in western France] had been cut. It was an essential post, because it enabled us to coordinate with a large number of associations across the region.”
“We'll only consider the fight against violence against women to be a major national cause once we have €2.6 billion designated to combat violence against women,” said Günbay, who is now waiting for the "welcomed" but "insufficient" governmental measures to be implemented.
With AFP and Reuters
This article has been translated from the original in French by Mariamne Everett.
Uber and Bolt unveil women-only service in Paris
By AFP
November 28, 2024
Uber has 1,500 women drivers working in Paris
By AFP
November 28, 2024
Uber has 1,500 women drivers working in Paris
- Copyright AFP/File Mauro PIMENTEL
Two rival ride-hailing platforms announced on Thursday options allowing Parisian women to order a car driven by a female driver in a bid to ensure “greater safety” for its customers.
The “Uber by Women” option, available from Thursday, comes at no extra cost but with potentially longer waiting times.
Uber launched a similar scheme in other European countries as the company grapples with a litany of sexual assault or harassment claims against their drivers.
The change will ensure “greater safety” for its women customers, said Uber, with some 1,500 female drivers already available in Paris.
There is a reminder on the app that the option is for women only, and drivers can cancel if a man tries to use it, the platform told AFP.
“Waiting times … could be higher than with other options, 15 minutes on average compared to four minutes” for a standard order, Uber said.
But the ride-share company also hopes the change will attract more women drivers by offering them a “substantial reduction” on the fees charged for each ride.
Uber by Women is an “excellent way of increasing the attractiveness of the ride-hailing profession to women who would otherwise not consider it”, said Uber’s head in France, Laureline Serieys.
European rival Bolt also announced the launch of a similar option in France called “Women by Women”, set to roll out by the end of 2024.
“It is essential to guarantee the safety of all women using ride-hailing services,” said France’s Bolt director Julien Mouyeket.
“The ‘Women for Women’ category embodies this commitment, meeting the safety expectations of female users while protecting female drivers,” he added.
Two rival ride-hailing platforms announced on Thursday options allowing Parisian women to order a car driven by a female driver in a bid to ensure “greater safety” for its customers.
The “Uber by Women” option, available from Thursday, comes at no extra cost but with potentially longer waiting times.
Uber launched a similar scheme in other European countries as the company grapples with a litany of sexual assault or harassment claims against their drivers.
The change will ensure “greater safety” for its women customers, said Uber, with some 1,500 female drivers already available in Paris.
There is a reminder on the app that the option is for women only, and drivers can cancel if a man tries to use it, the platform told AFP.
“Waiting times … could be higher than with other options, 15 minutes on average compared to four minutes” for a standard order, Uber said.
But the ride-share company also hopes the change will attract more women drivers by offering them a “substantial reduction” on the fees charged for each ride.
Uber by Women is an “excellent way of increasing the attractiveness of the ride-hailing profession to women who would otherwise not consider it”, said Uber’s head in France, Laureline Serieys.
European rival Bolt also announced the launch of a similar option in France called “Women by Women”, set to roll out by the end of 2024.
“It is essential to guarantee the safety of all women using ride-hailing services,” said France’s Bolt director Julien Mouyeket.
“The ‘Women for Women’ category embodies this commitment, meeting the safety expectations of female users while protecting female drivers,” he added.
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