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.
Comments