Spanish feminists demonstrate in Avignon in support of Gisèle Pélicot

The day after the conviction of 51 men for rape and sexual assault, 200 feminists demonstrated in Avignon. Among them, Spanish women who wanted to provide their support to the victim, Gisèle Pélicot.

“Gracias”, “eskerik asko Gisèle”. In Spanish, Basque or Catalan, several dozen Spanish feminists expressed their gratitude to Gisèle Pélicot before the Avignon court. The gathering was organized by the Amazons, one of the feminist collectives which demonstrated throughout the trial of Dominique Pélicot and the 50 men found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

>> IN PICTURES. Mazan trial verdict: Gisèle Pelicot's emotion, tensions in front of the court… A look back at the highlights of this historic day <<

Dominique Pélicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, December 19, the maximum sentence for rape, following a trial known as “the Mazan rapes” named after the small town in Vaucluse where the Pélicot couple lived at the time of the facts. For 10 years, the man raped and invited other men via internet forums to rape his wife in the family home. Gisèle Pélicot, 72 years old today, was previously sedated and unconscious at the time of the rapes.

The other men received sentences ranging from three to fifteen years in prison. Insufficient according to the demonstrators. “The sentences are very low, they should have taken 20 years each”comments Raquel.

In Spain, the trial of the Mazan rapists echoes the so-called “pack” trial which marked the country's recent history. The case dates back to the summer of 2016, in Seville, in the south of the country. Five young men aged 27 to 29 had raped a young woman of 18, less than fifteen minutes after meeting her.

During a first trial, in 2018, the judges reclassified the facts as “sexual abuse” and sentenced each of the men to nine years in prison. This decision sparked major feminist protests across the country.

The mobilization made it possible to introduce the notion of explicit sexual consent into the “solo si es si” law, “only a yes is a yes”. A step forward, even if it is not enough for Pilar Aguilar, founder of a feminist political party, Feministas al congreso.

“It's not enough. There are women who sleep with their husbands without really wanting to. We women are raised to give our consent. There is a whole ideology to fight and centuries of oppression. Violence sexual relations are a weapon of universal male domination..

For them, the trial of the Mazan rapists reveals the work that remains to be accomplished to abolish sexist and sexual violence. “It's astounding to see that within a 50 km radius, a guy can find a hundred others willing to rape. Even we feminists who know the situation, are amazed to see how alive the patriarchy is. It chills us blood.”

When the Spanish organized their trip to Avignon, they hoped that the verdict would be delivered on December 20. But even the day after the verdict, their presence is necessary, believes Pilar “To say thank you to Gisèle, to show that we are here and that we are not going to stop fighting.”

Another demonstrator also considers it important to “finding yourself among women at the end of this horrific trial, to take stock.”

Purple, the color of the feminist movement, is worn on flags, scarves and t-shirts. Slogans are launched for the abolition of pornography and prostitution, responsible according to the demonstrators for the degradation of the image that men have of women's bodies.

A small group sings a feminist song from Mexico: “If they touch one, we all respond”. “If they hit one, we all fight back together.”