The end of the most controversial sexual assault case in France

One of the most controversial sexual violence cases in France ended with a court verdict for about 50 defendants on Thursday; this comes as the toxic culture of violence and sexual assault in France continues to claim victims at an increasing rate.

The case of 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot, who became a symbol of the fight against sexual violence and demanded a public trial by revealing her true identity, shocked not only France but the entire world when it was published. Over the course of nine years, her husband sexually assaulted her.

Pelicot 's husband allegedly sexually abused her by giving her a sedative and raping her between 2011 and 2020, according to the case's documentation, and the defendants' trial is a true curtain on France's sexual violence crisis.

Over the course of the last three months of this year, the historic Gisèle Pelicot trial—which involved over 200 rapes and about 50 defendants—exposed the hidden aspects of French rape culture.

On Thursday, December 19, a panel of five judges secretly voted on the verdicts of Gisele Pelicot 's historic trial. Dominique Pelicot, Gisele Pelicot 's ex-husband, was given a 20-year prison sentence, while the other defendants received sentences ranging from 10 to 18 years.

The contentious Pelicot case began in 2020 when Pelicot 's husband was arrested for sexual harassment in a public setting. His cell phone was confiscated, and his electronic devices were searched.

For all the years that she had been a victim of sexual assault, Gisèle Pelicot was unaware of this. However, she was experiencing concerning physical symptoms that neither she nor her doctors could address; she had always assumed that her physical symptoms were due to cancer or Alzheimer's.

Despite a surge of demonstrations against the prevalence of sexual violence and rape culture in recent years, France has not yet taken significant and practical steps to address the escalating problem.

French experts maintain that there are problems with France's legal definition of sexual violence that must be fixed; they point out that only a small percentage of police complaints about sexual assault result in investigations, and they demand that the police pay more attention to the crisis and its victims.

Campaigners against sexual violence in France hope that the sentences imposed in the Pelicot case will be a turning point in the fight against rape culture in the country.

A government report claims that the number of victims of sexual violence in France nearly doubled in 2021, rising by roughly 33%. Of all sexual assaults reported in France, only roughly 10% were prosecuted, and fewer than 5% resulted in conviction.

The majority of assault or attempted assault victims (9 out of 10) never report the incident, according to the report. A legal expert stated that it is imperative to address the issue of sexual violence against women in France.

In France, 94,000 women are assaulted or have attempted sexual assault annually, according to government statistics.

In addition to the psychological and emotional trauma brought on by such incidents, victims of sexual assault in France must contend with an insufficient administrative framework and enduring stereotypes that frequently shape societal and governmental attitudes as well as legal procedures and decisions.