മനുഷ്യ മനസാക്ഷിയെ ഞെട്ടിച്ച ഫ്രഞ്ച് മാസ്സ് റേപ്പ് | BS Chandra Mohan |Mlife Daily

The unspeakable horror of the French mass rape case

When monstrosities like the Dominique Pelicot case are revealed, the general love I feel for men seems suddenly starkly absurd..

There are many layers to the unspeakable horror of this case. There is the longevity of the predation, and the fact it was only halted after 71-year-old Dominique Pelicot was caught trying to film up the skirts of women in a supermarket. How long would it have gone on otherwise? Would Gisele have been violated until the end of her life, suffering mysterious ailments and blackouts and feeling divorced from her own physicality but never knowing why? Then there is the reaction to it: the mayor of Mazan suggested that Gisele Pelicot’s lack of memory makes the experience more palatable than other, “even more serious” rapes....

Gisèle Pelicot found out she was the victim of a crime when police showed her the evidence: photos and videos spanning a decade, in which a series of men raped her unconscious body in her own bedroom. More confounding still was the perpetrator: the 71-year-old’s husband of 50 years, Dominique Pelicot. Police say that between 2011 and 2020, Dominique routinely drugged his wife and invited strangers to join him in assaulting her, often filming the encounters. Gisèle has no memory of the attacks but will see many of them played in court as dozens of defendants go on trial in Avignon, France, between now and December. Her ex-husband, also 71, has already pleaded guilty to a suite of charges, which — according to the New York Times — include aggravated rape, drugging, and the violation not only of his wife’s privacy but also his daughter’s and daughters-in-law’s: Police also found illicit photos of them when searching Dominique’s devices. The revelation of his abuse has destroyed a formerly tight-knit family, and the why behind his actions remains an open question...