🔗 Share this article

France's survivor of multiple assaults, the woman at the center of the case, is heading back to the courtroom at the start of the week to come face-to-face with one of her attackers, the sole individual who is appealing against the judicial outcome from the previous year in which a collective of 51 defendants were sentenced for raping her as she rested, sedated, by her husband in their residence.

During that period, Madame Pelicot's public resistance was regarded as a potential trigger in the fight against abuse. But in France, that optimism seems to be fading.

"I am going to harm you should you remain here," threatened a man positioned near a historic church in the town, the scenic area where Gisele and Dominique Pelicot had their home.

He happened to hear me questioning an older lady about the influence of the Pelicot case on France and, while vowing to damage our equipment too, was now clarifying that the town was tired of being linked to one of the globally infamous rape trials.

Several days prior, the town's leader had released a gentler version of the same argument, in a communique that described the survivor's years-long ordeal as "an individual issue… that has nothing to do with us."

One may appreciate the leader's desire to defend the locality's standing and its travel business. However it is important to recognize that a year earlier, he'd received coverage throughout the country after he'd told me, twice, in an conversation, that he sought to "minimize" the severity of the survivor's experiences because "no lives were lost", and minors were not part of it.

Additionally it should be mentioned that almost all the ladies we did speak to in the community recently held a different view from the mayor's desire to regard the proceedings as, mainly, something to "get past."

Lighting up in a shaded doorway not far from the religious building, a public employee in her thirties, who gave her name as the resident, expressed with undisguised bitterness.

"No-one talks about it anymore, within this community. It's as if it never happened. I am acquainted with a person going through abuse at home at this moment. However females conceal it. They are scared of the individuals who commit these acts," she expressed, adding that she was "convinced" that additional the attackers were still at large, and unapprehended, in the area.

Walking nearby near a few cats enjoying the warmth, another resident, elderly, was similarly willing to discuss, but had a contrasting opinion of the legal matter.

"Society is progressing. The nation is developing." Due to the survivor's actions? "Absolutely. It has given impetus, for women to speak freely," she shared with me, emphatically.

Across France, there is certainty that the publicity produced by the survivor's worldwide shared commitment that "shame should change sides" - from survivor to perpetrator – has provided added momentum to a effort targeting abuse previously invigorated by the MeToo movement.

"In my opinion altering conduct is something that needs a long time. [But] the proceedings sparked a huge, historic mobilisation… targeting abuse, and combating lack of accountability," said an activist, who oversees a alliance of multiple women's groups in France. "Our attention is on training professionals, assisting survivors, on examinations."

"Yes, France has changed. The cases of abuse has grown significantly, indicating that survivors – females of all ages – they voice their experiences and they want justice," concurred an advocate, representative of the NGO "Dare to be feminist".

However, the energy and optimism that overwhelmed the survivor last December, as she left the judicial building and into a scrum of supporters, have failed to result in many significant alterations to the way the French state handles the issue of abuse.

In fact, there is a widespread understanding among activists and specialists that the situation is, in contrast, worsening.

"Regrettably, authorities are unresponsive," stated Céline Piques, citing figures showing that conviction rates are not improving notwithstanding a significant increase in instances of abuse.

"The outlook is grim. There is a backlash. Beliefs enabling abuse are coming back very strongly. We can see this with the men's rights activism rising in popularity, especially with adolescent males," continued the coordinator,