The title of the piece in Le Monde is:
Plaintiff comes under attack at Pelicot trial: 'I understand why rape victims don't press charges'
I will give a fair warning: The rape trial has reached the usual phase where the woman is painted as somehow deserving of such abuse. The details are alarming; some may wish to skip the details in the reproduced paragraphs from the articles.
Intimate images appeared for the first time on the screens at the Avignon courthouse on Wednesday, September 18, and the realities of the Pelicot trial began to fully sink in. Each time one of the 35 co-defendants (out of 51) contesting the rape charges against him will take the stand over the coming weeks, videos of the scenes in question filmed by Dominique Pelicot and on which the accusation is based will be broadcast, promising days of difficult hearings.
Prior to this long and dark tunnel, two defense lawyers had obtained that some pictures of Gisèle Pelicot be shown in court. The images were extracted from a hard drive belonging to her husband. The lawyers argued that they would be "useful in revealing the truth." As Gisèle Pelicot took the stand on Wednesday afternoon, her daughter Caroline, who supports her every day, left the courtroom at her mother's request. And 27 photos were shown in silence: Gisèle Pelicot naked and visibly conscious, in lascivious positions, close-ups of her crotch
Gisèle Pelicot said she has no recollection of these snapshots – taken, she claimed, without her knowledge or when she was sedated by her husband – but she clearly understood the maneuver: "They're trying to trap me with these photos, they want to show that I baited these individuals into my home and that I was consenting."
Every woman knows that if her rape goes to trial that her life will be torn apart.
"I'm not even going to answer that question, I find it very insulting," retorted Gisèle Pelicot, as angry as ever. "I understand why rape victims don't press charges, because we really go through a humiliating process."
Her bravery was clear when she fought for a public trial.
The reality is that the public nature of the proceedings, which Gisèle Pelicot fought for against all odds, is extremely detrimental to the defendants. The hostility shown toward her on Wednesday by some of the defense lawyers, even as they were restricted by the presence of journalists, also gives an idea of the violence of this trial if it had been held behind closed doors.
France 24 Has a report up [Video with English voice over] -France24
The most astounding quote
Last week, Guillaume de Palma, the lawyer for several of them, said that “there is rape, and then there's rape”, implying that a man who was unaware he was committing rape could not be judged for the crime.
Gisèle Pelicot dismissed this defence, saying, “When you see a woman deeply asleep on her bed, isn't there a moment when you wonder, ‘Isn't there something wrong here?'’’
“Rape is rape,” she said angrily from the stand. “Whether it's 3 minutes or an hour. It's absolutely despicable.”
This past weekend, thousands of people demonstrated across France in support of Gisèle Pelicot, some carrying signs that said the trial should shift the "shame" felt by victims back onto the accused.
“Thanks to you, I have the strength to continue the fight to the end”, Gisèle said to her supporters.
Her husband is guilty by his admission.
Due to the number of defendants, this trial is due to run until December.
It takes a certain courage to face this type of onslaught undaunted.
Many of us know the flashbacks, nightmares, and physical/psychological trauma that rape causes. The fear of the actual trial and the delay in finding a date for that trial multiplies the horror.