Gisele Pelicot: Finding Sisterhood at France's Mass Rape Trial

[Beringia]

https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/gisele-pelicot-finding-sisterhood-at-frances-mass-rape-trial/

Article by Diane de Vignemont, a historian-turned-journalist based in Paris

This week, prosecutors demanded the maximum 20-year jail sentence for Dominique Pelicot, 14 years for Nicolas F. and four to 18 years for his co-defendants. Feminist organizers, though, have been warning Gisele’s supporters that they need to psychologically prepare themselves for much lighter sentences. The French legal system, they argue, has lagged behind civil society, and Gisele’s lack of consent is far from the only thing at play. “With this trial,” her lawyer told the court, “my client wants to make visible not just the crudeness of rape, but also the way in which a rape is defended in 2024.”

[txwhitedove]

1. Great article. I had read about this, but no idea trial was ongoing: "MeToo revealed that every woman

can be a victim, ... but this trial shows us that any man can be a perpetrator. ...the professions of some of the men on trial, recruited by Pelicot on an online forum brazenly called “Without her knowledge”: a fireman, a lawyer, a nurse, a factory worker, a truck driver, a reporter. They were aged 21 to 68 at the time of the rapes; some are fathers, others grandfathers. Their banality is chilling."

[blueseas]

2. Person of the year

Gisele!