They line up in front of a courthouse in southeastern France, from morning to evening, and have gathered in the thousands in cities across the country. They hold signs reading, “one rape every six minutes,” “not all men but always a man,” and “giving in is not consenting.”
They chant: “Rapist we see you, victim we believe you.”
Women across France are rallying in support of Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old reluctant icon whose husband is on trial in the city of Avignon for systematically drugging her and inviting dozens of men, 50 of whom are now his co-defendants, into their home to rape her over nearly a decade.
The shocking case has sparked what many women in France call a long-overdue reckoning over “rape culture” and systemic sexism in the way the judicial system handles sexual violence.
You’re just trying to create drama, anybody not braindead can see that what was done to her was beyond atrocious and that she is a hero. Yet the publisher of that article deliberately chose a picture that divisive to generate engagement, get clicks and thus, get paid.
I have been very vocal about this case since the start, because what was done to her was an absolute atrocity, and Gisele literally waived her right to anonimity in order to raise awareness about it. She is a hero, he is a monster, and that is what we should all be focusing on, yet whoever published this article, simply decided to fling mud.
We’re all being manipulated, my dear.