The Gisèle Pelicot rape case shocked France and changed the country forever

On By Littum

Around the end of September, staff manning the phones at 39 19, France’s main anonymous hotline for women who are victims of violence, began to notice a new type of case.

“The caller believes she has been drugged and potentially raped. She had suspicions a few months ago and all the information surrounding the Mazan trial has helped her put the pieces together,” an employee explains in a write-up of one of several calls seen by Reuters.

The trial in which Dominique Pelicot has admitted drugging his wife Gisèle and recruiting dozens of men online to rape her while she was unconscious for almost a decade is coming to an end. Dozens of verdicts are expected Thursday.

The mass-rape case has shocked France, and its implications will be felt far beyond the courthouse in Avignon, where judges have heard and seen more than three months of evidence. Gisèle Pelicot, 72, has become a feminist hero both at home and abroad for renouncing her right to anonymity and standing up to her abusers in court.

A man walks past the slogan that reads 'Justice for Gisele, justice for all'

A man walks past the slogan that reads ‘Justice for Gisele, justice for all’ (Reuters)

There are also signs that the case is beginning to change social and medical practice in France around drug-facilitated sexual abuse, according to 10 doctors, social workers and activists Reuters spoke to.

Women’s rights group Solidarite Femmes, which runs the 39 19 hotline, said it had noticed a clear increase in women reporting suspected cases of “chemical subjugation” – the act of drugging someone without their consent for criminal purposes – as well as sexual violence within a couple.

“Women call us and cite the trial and say it resonates with their experiences,” Mine Gunbay, the head of the organization, told Reuters.

In order to better answer these callers’ new questions, Solidarite Femmes organized a training session for its telephone counselors at the beginning of December.

Lucie, who declined to share her full name because of regular threats received by 39 19 staff, attended the training in Paris. Among other things, she said she learned that most drug-facilitated assaults take place at home rather than in bars.

She also learned about the legal and medical resources available to help suspected victims. Two days later, she was able to point a caller in the right direction with her new knowledge.

Dominique Pelicot, who allegedly drugged and raped his then wife Gisele Pelicot

Dominique Pelicot, who allegedly drugged and raped his then wife Gisele Pelicot (via REUTERS)

The Pelicot trial has also prompted soul-searching among some in the medical community, as doctors seek to deepen their understanding of chemical subjugation.

Doctors failed to identify years of drug abuse and sexual abuse committed against Gisèle Pelicot, who was tested for Alzheimer’s and brain tumors in an attempt to find the cause of the mysterious blackouts she suffered at her home in the southeastern village of Mazan.

Leila Chaouachi, a pharmacist who founded CRAFS, a center opened this year to provide information to medical staff and potential victims on the issue of drug-facilitated assaults, said doctors and nurses were keen to improve their knowledge in the wake of Pelicot – the case.

“We are overwhelmed with training requests from all over the country,” Chaouachi said. The trainings include understanding what drug-facilitated assault symptoms may look like and how to collect drug evidence when possible.

At the end of November, the government announced measures to ensure that potential victims have better access to testing for the presence of drugs in their system, pushed in part by the advocacy work of Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter through M’Endors Pas (Don’t put me to sleep). a group she launched last year to raise awareness of drug-facilitated assaults.

An amendment to create a pilot scheme offering free blood tests to those suspected of having been drugged and assaulted was included in the 2025 budget proposal, but the legislation failed in the political turmoil that toppled former prime minister Michel Barnier earlier this month.

The proposal must now await new negotiations on the 2025 budget, which are expected to begin in January. But measures already taken testify to the impact of the Pelicot case on French attitudes to drug-facilitated assaults, said Christine Louis-Vahdat, a representative of France’s medical association.

Women gather in support of Gisele Pelicot outside the courthouse in Avignon

Women gather in support of Gisele Pelicot outside the courthouse in Avignon (AFP via Getty Images)

“Without the lawsuit, it probably would have taken a lot longer to get the funding,” she said.

Louis-Vahdat said the proposed measure, which could be scaled up in the future, would be a crucial step to ensure doctors have the means to detect cases of drug-facilitated assault.

“The trial has focused on doctors’ lack of tools,” she said.

The case has also inspired academic research. Doctors at Geneva University Hospitals recently incorporated chemical submission into an ongoing study of sexual abuse cases after receiving data requests from journalists covering the trial.

“This trial will, I hope, be a point of no return,” Chaouachi said.