Megan Clement in The New York Times:
At first it seemed that we were doomed to bear witness to a grim spectacle, a media frenzy over the appalling details of a nauseating crime that left its victim, in her own words, “a field of ruins.” But there was one more extraordinary element that soon came to light: the strength of Ms. Pelicot. First, she refused anonymity. Then, with patient, powerful insistence that rapists be held accountable for their actions — “It’s difficult for me to hear that it’s basically banal to have raped Madame Pelicot,” she said — she opened up a conversation about sexual violence in a country where a serious reckoning was well overdue.
Convictions for rape are rare in France — 94 percent of reported cases were dropped in 2020, according to a 2024 report by France’s Public Policy Institute. The same report estimated that only 10 to 15 percent of rape complaints ended in a criminal conviction. Speaking after the verdicts were handed down, Ms. Pelicot paid tribute to those who have been denied justice: “I think of the victims, unrecognized, whose stories often remain hidden. I want you to know that we share the same struggle.”
Trials can be devastating for victims. Despite the clarity of the facts in the Pelicot case, this trial has been no exception. At one point, Ms. Pelicot was questioned over whether she had a tendency toward “exhibitionism.” Defense lawyers suggested that in one of the videos she was actually conscious and responding — a moment in which she showed a rare flash of exasperation and walked out of the courtroom. After one particularly insulting line of questioning, she told the court, “I understand why rape victims don’t press charges.”
More here.
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