Laurence Rossignol, former socialist minister of women’s rights and senator for Val-de-Marne, hopes Thursday, December 19 on franceinfo that “Gisèle Pelicot has, at least, at the end of the trial where she was so courageous, so exemplary, won a truly great law against violence against women”. The verdict has been delivered in the Mazan rape trial. All 51 defendants were found guilty. Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years of criminal imprisonment.
For the senator, this “comprehensive law against violence against women”must take into account “both the question of means, developments in the Penal Code and also the question of judicial practices, police practices, the treatment of victims and the prevention of sexual violence”. She hopes to see the demands of the socialist leaders, Olivier Faure, Boris Vallaud and Patrick Kanner included on the agenda of the new government of François Bayrou, and in the demands of the socialist leaders.
In this law, it calls for “means of inquiry and investigation” for gender-based and sexual violence (SGBV) because “there is a major flaw in the search for evidence” in these cases. She highlights the work of investigators in the Pelicot case, which “went to look for the evidence”while “most often the evidence is not sought”. Beyond law enforcement, there is the question of training “at the National School of the Judiciary and training for lawyers”. However, it points out a blind spot in these formations which are “for newcomers”. We must therefore not forget those already in practice. So she wants “means” to train magistrates, police officers and lawyers already in practice.
Laurence Rossignol also insists on the importance of “training of doctors”recalling the medical wanderings of Gisèle Pelicot, several doctors not having detected that she was the victim of chemical submission on the part of her husband, Dominique Pelicot.
The former Minister of Women’s Rights, however, says “perplexed” regarding the introduction of the notion of consent into the law. According to her, the Penal Code, as it is written today, allows “to cover a good number of cases”. “I think that men who rape know very well that the victim does not consent, and that is the point of rape to override a woman’s consent”explains the minister. Gold, “we must be careful that by introducing consent into the law, we do not introduce an additional criterion”pointing out in particular the ambiguity of this concept used in everyday language. “Consent means to accept, it does not mean to desire, so I am perplexed about the need to introduce an ambiguous word to clarify the Penal Code”she explains.
Gisele Pelicot “carries a word that is beyond its own history”estimates on franceinfo Laurence Rossignol, former socialist minister of women’s rights and senator. “She speaks for all women”she adds. “This is a historic trial.”
She also highlighted several lessons from the trial. “Sexual violence against women has benefited for centuries from complacency, from silence, from denial, and in this trial, in all that it generates as the words of experts, philosophers, activists , contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms of sexual violence, to discover how predators work, how women react, can show solidarity and defend themselves.”. For example, Gisèle Pelicot’s refusal to go behind closed doors made it possible, according to her, to discover “that in the end, this story behind closed doors, which was always presented as being at the service of the victim, in fact, protected the perpetrators more”analyzes the minister.
On Thursday, the verdict was rendered in this controversial trial, which began in September. Dominique Pelicot was accused of having drugged his wife, Gisèle, for more than ten years, to rape her and to have her raped by at least 50 other men, for almost ten years. All were found guilty by the Vaucluse criminal court. Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years of criminal imprisonment.
