Gisèle Pelicot has said it again. But the worst part is that she had to do it again. After the massive trial that left her exhaustedAs she acknowledges, and as is evident after everything she's been through, Gisèle Pelicot has had to return to court because one of her rapists, the only one convicted, has appealed the sentence and refuses to admit his sexual aggressor status. The man, his face conveniently covered, believes he was "tricked" because he believed he was engaging in consensual sexual intercourse, even though Dominique Pelicot, the victim's predatory husband, insisted that all the men who raped his wife knew she was sedated and that she never gave consent to anyone. In fact, as we already know, it wasn't until after hundreds of rapes that she came to discover that the ailments she suffered had to do with the hell her husband had forced her to live in. One of those who kept that hell alive is Husamettin Dogan, the 44-year-old man who now wants to be recognized as innocent. "The only victim in this room is me, not you. Take responsibility for your actions at once. I feel ashamed for you," a once-again questioned Gisèle Pelicot retorted. And when Housametin Dogan was asked what he meant by rape, he replied: "Someone tied up and forced." Obviously, he can answer that to aid his defense, even if it's indefensible, but how many people still believe that rape is "someone tied up and forced"? And how could Gisèle Pelicot have to face one of her executioners again and say: "When will you admit it? Take responsibility for your actions!" Gisèle Pelicot's return to the news doesn't seem as significant as it was when her case first came to light. But I would say it should be given even more importance. And it isn't being given more importance. But I find it very relevant that the woman who had to endure it all, who stood up for it, and who said that shame should change sides, had to remind one of the men who participated in the barbarity to "account for his actions!" Because this is the key to explaining the difficulty victims face in a system that still fails to protect them. Rapists are considered "normal" people who don't accept their actions because in the society we live in, their actions can be considered "normal," like themselves. How many people still believe, even now, that rape is "someone tied up and forced"?
In Lleida, a father rapes his daughter on the street in front of her eight-year-old brother. He is arrested twice for breaking the restraining order and is finally released after reaching an agreement in which he agrees not to commit any more crimes. He is released because neither the Prosecutor's Office nor the victim requests his imprisonment, even though it is not the first time the father has raped his daughter. How many people still believe it's the daughter's fault for not reporting him? How many still believe it's the daughter's fault because she was drinking, and exonerate the father because he was drinking? How many still believe that if the father doesn't leave, it's the daughter who has to leave?
The mayor of Mazán, the Pelicots' village, went so far as to say that, because Gisèle Pelicot had been unconscious at the time of the rapes, she had suffered much less than other victims. He also said that her case was very difficult, but that, unlike others, no one had died. He later apologized. But who does he think doesn't think that, still?
