At 71, the retiree Gisele Pelicot is an unlikely icon but there she stands with grace and dignity, unfazed and, importantly, without a touch of shame in a French courthouse giving testimony about a rape case that has rocked not only France but large parts of the world. Madame Pelicot, as she has come to be known and addressed, has received dozens of letters and placards pledging support or thanking her for the incredible difference she has made to sexual assault and rape cases since she took the stand to tell the world how her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, drugged her for years and recruited men online to have sex with her as she lay unconscious and he filmed the encounters. Her assaulters or rapists were between 22 and 67 years old at the time of the crime; 51 men have been put on trial so far and her husband has admitted his role.
It's a rape case like no other not only because of the circumstances or number of violative incidents but because Pelicot has, through her sheer courage, gifted the women of the world a rare turning point: a reversal of shame. Madame Pelicot has stated, repeatedly and unabashedly, that it is not she but her rapists who need to feel shame. And she walks to the courthouse with her held high while the accused hide their faces with scarves and hats because she took the step of making the case public so that the world would know. It takes more than plain courage in one’s darkest hour to do this; it takes a splendid sense of purpose. Madame Pelicot once stated that she was “determined to change society” and perception of rape. She has done that and more; French lawmakers are debating including consent into the country’s rape laws and, though it could be controversial, Madame Pelicot has turned the society’s gaze away from the women assaulted to the men who commit the crime. This is more significant than it seems today.
