And so much the worse for the housework. When she heard on the radio at 11 o’clock that rallies in support of Gisèle Pelicot had just begun in several cities in France, and even in Auxerre, her home, Sylviane Germanique didn’t hesitate for long. “Are you going or not? No, you can’t stay at home. The women have to go out. Go.” She went there. “I left my storage unattended, got in the car and arrived, a little late of course.”
In this town of 35,000 inhabitants, the largest city in Yonne, around fifty people gathered on Saturday, September 14, in front of the local monument for the elimination of violence against women. Without any partisan or union banners, they all responded to a national call launched by feminist groups to demonstrate in solidarity with rape victims. With one name highlighted: that of Gisèle Pelicot, 71, whose ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, is on trial for having drugged and raped her for years with dozens of strangers, at the couple’s home in Vaucluse.
“This case is a complete horror”says Sylviane Germanique, “revolted”. This 60-year-old puppeteer actress had never taken part in a mobilization on this theme in Auxerre. She gritted her teeth in her corner. “Usually, I walk past this monument and say, ‘Courage, girls.’ Today, Here I am. I am here, without knowing anyone, but I tell everyone: I am here, by your side.”
To face the morning chill, Isabelle Corneille brought out a scarf. For the sun, dark glasses reminiscent of the tinted lenses worn by Gisèle Pelicot in court. The latter’s face, by dint of making headlines, is known to all. “I think about her all the time”confides this 49-year-old Auxerroise, admiring the “courage” of the victim, who demanded a public trial.
Already aware of sexual violence, the demonstrator is particularly affected by this “Mr. and Mrs. Average’s business”which involves defendants of all ages and social backgrounds. “When I go shopping, I start to think: ‘What if they, she, him…’ We are certainly in contact with attackers and we don’t suspect anything.”she worries.
“When I read the names of all the accused, I had only one fear: to come across a familiar name.”
Isabelle Corneille, protesterto franceinfo
This case opened his eyes to chemical submission in a marital setting. “We heard about GHB at parties and I had understood that rapes were generally committed by a member of the entourage, often a spouse, of course. But such a practice had never crossed my mind.”
With the trial of Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants, Isabelle Corneille hopes to witness “A “turning” in taking victims into account. It already evokes a “after Gisèle Pelicot”including in her professional practice, as a trainer in a nursing school. “Among colleagues, in recent days, we have talked a lot about the symptoms of chemical submission. We must better detect the signs, better observe the women who arrive, the couples…”
On the banks of the Yonne, in front of the monument, covered with words (“courage”, “emprise”, “silence”…) and women’s faces, Elise Nesling speaks. It is she, a regular at Parisian demonstrations, a 37-year-old agricultural engineer, with no political or associative affiliation, who insisted on including Auxerre on the map of the day’s mobilizations, with two other citizens. “Violence is everywhere and it is important to raise awareness of the fight against rape culture outside of big cities”she explained to franceinfo before the gathering.
Violence is everywhere, and so are the victims. “This Pelicot affair awakens trauma in many of themconfides the organizer. By our presence, we can help them cope.” One of her friends, a rape victim, asked her to read a message from her to the protesters. In it, she talks about the “solitude” felt by the women who were attacked. “The silence”: “All these families and this whole society that doesn’t want to listen.” And a call, which mingles with the lapping of the fountains in the square: “You can change everything by hearing us, by reading us, by listening to us.”
A few meters away, Jack, 26, finds a form of comfort in this gathering. This trans and feminist activist traveled 75 km from Troyes (Aube) to attend. Five days earlier, Jack had gone to the police station. Filing a complaint for sexual assault and marital rape, in a case that goes back five years. “The Pelicot trial may mark a turning point. But it also depresses me a little: do you have to have such a heavy case and so much filmed evidence to have a chance of being heard by the courts?”
Among the signs “Fed up with rape”Elise Nesling holds up a placard “Monsters don’t exist: rapists are men “ordinary”The banality of evil recurs in all the demonstrators’ speeches. On a slab between two jets of water, Alice Louis, 23, intends above all to thank Gisèle Pelicot for the “courage” that she brings to him on a daily basis. “We are here to show our support for her, not to put more pressure on her by saying that she represents anything.”believes this design student, from Auxerre who has moved to Paris, “very moved” to attend such a gathering for the first time in his hometown.
This affair has shaken the student’s relationship with men. “I felt very anxious. We think we can trust certain people 100%, and this is what happens to this woman… If all men can be rapists, what do we do? It hurts, even if we have to continue living.”
Next to her, her little brother, Germain, 20, says to himself “proud” from his feminist sister, who took him there to his very first demonstration. “These subjects are not really talked about among boys. I discuss them mainly with my sisters, with women. We are in a period where speech is becoming more open, but there are still expressions that remain between us, like ‘se fouetté une fille’. There is still a long way to go among boys.” Tonight, the subject will be on the menu for family dinner. Perhaps while waiting for a new demonstration.