WARNING: This article may concern those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has.

It is not uncommon for Gisèle Pelicot to be greeted with applause as she crosses the courthouse in Avignon, in the south of France.

Amid a gruesome gang rape trial against her husband and 50 other accused men, Pelicot, 72, is being called a feminist heroinspiring thousands of marches, rallies and a campaign to legal reform to French rape law to include consent for the first time.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, admitted to inviting dozens of strangers over nearly 10 years into their home to rape her after drugging her until she lost consciousness.

Gisèle Pelicot was praised for her courage, not only for surviving her ordeal, but also for giving up on it. right to anonymityand she calm on the witness stand, where she asserts that it is the men – not her – who should be ashamed.

And now that Pelicot has spoke for the second time during the trial, which began on September 2, his remarks were shared in the media and social platforms, with people online are even petitioning to be named Time magazine’s Person of the Year or receive the award Nobel Peace Prize.

Sexual assault experts and advocates say it is change the discourse about the rape, and Pelicot herself said she was “determined for things to change in this society.”

“I decided not to be ashamed. I didn’t do anything wrong… They are the ones who should be ashamed,” Pélicot said Wednesday.

This flips the script of the victim-blaming and victim-shaming narrative that is often seen around sexual assault survivors, said Bailey Reid, CEO of Ottawa-based sexual violence prevention program The Spark Strategy.

“Very often, survivors feel that they should be ashamed of what happened to them and that they should blame themselves in some way,” Reid told CBC News.

WATCH | We applaud Gisèle Pélicot:

Gisèle Pelicot applauded after testifying in gang rape trial

Gisèle Pelicot, who was allegedly drugged and raped by dozens of men in a scheme orchestrated by her husband, was greeted with flowers and applause after giving evidence at a public trial.

“By going public and denouncing the abusers, Gisèle Pelicot shifts the shame of the victim – where patriarchy and rape culture place blame – onto the abusers,” said Ummni Khan, associate professor in the Department of Law and Carleton Legal Studies. University of Ottawa.

“On the contrary, she asserts her power as a survivor, even a heroine, for women in France and around the world.”

Men who apologized are ‘trying to apologize’

In recent weeks, the court heard that Pelicot and her husband of 50 years lived in a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence. In 2020, a security guard caught Dominique Pelicot taking photos of women’s skirts in a supermarket, leading investigators to search his phone and computer.

They found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape Pelicot in their homes while she appeared unconscious. Police investigators found communications that Dominique Pelicot had sent to a messaging site commonly used by criminals, in which he invited men to sexually abuse his wife.

Dominique Pélicot admitted his guilt and claims that the 50 men on trial alongside him understood exactly what they were doing. The accused are aged between 26 and 74.

“It challenges myths surrounding sexual assault, including the belief that one is safe at home and the idea that rapists are monstrous figures rather than neighbors and community members,” said Khan, who conducts research on gender, sexuality and the law. “His willingness to stand by and listen to the attackers try to make excuses shows incredible courage.”

Despite video evidence against them, at least 35 of the defendants denied the rape accusations, saying Dominique Pelicot tricked them into believing they were participating in a sex game or that his wife was pretending to sleep. Only a few have admitted to raping Pelicot, and some have apologized – something she doesn’t accept.

“By apologizing, they are trying to apologize,” Pélicot said Wednesday.

She also testified how it was “incredibly violent” for her that many defendants at trial said they thought she was OK with the rapes or pretending to sleep.

“For me, they are rapists, they remain rapists. Rape is rape…. Of course today I feel responsible for nothing. Today, I am above all a victim …. We need to make progress on the culture of rape in society.”

WATCH | Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer criticizes “cowardice”:

Lawyer in French gang rape trial denounces men’s ‘cowardice’

Lawyer Stéphane Babonneau says Gisèle Pelicot cannot forgive the “cowardice” of the 50 men accused of raping her while she was drugged unconscious by her husband. Any of them could have alerted the authorities anonymously, “so it’s also the trial of cowardice for them,” he said.

Husband’s Corroboration Makes Case Unique

Tanya Couch, co-founder of the advocacy group Survivor Safety Matters and a sexual assault survivor herself, told CBC News she agrees Pelicot is undoubtedly a hero and that allowing his story to be so public is an act of incredible vulnerability.

“Without his courageous and selfless act, we wouldn’t have this idea of ​​how these ‘normal’ men behave behind closed doors,” said Couch, who lives in the Greater Toronto Area.

However, she pointed out, this type of public support and rallying for Pelicot is not the experience of most survivors. Pelicot’s case has two factors that set it apart from most other sexual assault cases, she said: police evidence and her husband’s corroboration of her story.

“The bottom line is we don’t believe in women,” Couch said.

Last year, French authorities recorded 114,000 victims of sexual violence, including more than 25,000 reported rapes. But experts say most rapes go unreported due to lack of hard evidence: About 80 percent of women do not file complaints, and 80 percent of those who do have their cases dropped before an investigation is opened.

In Canada too, the majority of sexual assaults are not reported to the police, according to the Ministry of Justice. Between 2017 and 2022, the rate of police-reported sexual assaults increased by 38 percent, notes Statistics Canada. In 2022, only 31 percent of sexual assault cases were resolved by the filing or recommendation of charges by police.

That year, 10,028 incidents of sexual assault were classified by police in Canada as having “insufficient evidence to lay or recommend a charge,” accounting for 30% of all police-reported sexual assaults, according to a 2024 study. Statistics Canada report.

“The public is encouraged to support Gisèle because her husband has corroborated her actions. If he had said she consented, that she was playing along, like most men do when they’re accused of sexual assault, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Couch said. “This would be a ‘he said, she said’ case again.”

Reid, of The Spark Strategy, said she believes any survivor of sexual violence is incredibly courageous – whether or not they choose to tell anyone – and that even if Pelicot’s posts questioning shame and stigma are powerful, it is important to support and believe all survivors. .

“If we all started with this simple step, we could all be feminist heroes,” she said.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, support is available via crisis lines and local support services via the Canadian Association to End Violence Database. ​​

For anyone affected by family or domestic violence, support is available through local crisis lines and support services. ​​

If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.