Gisèle Pelicot

[Biloute]

In my opinion, this story has gone too far. Now that the case has been judged, I fear that this modest woman will be abandoned to her solitude after having been used by associations for ideological purposes.
Let's recall the facts: her husband Dominique Pélicot was seen by a security guard in a supermarket, filming under the girls' skirts. The police then found films of men raping his wife, Gisèle, who was unconscious under the influence of drugs. Gisèle had no idea what had happened to her. What a shock for this woman who thought she was living happily with a caring husband !
And then, everything went crazy because she was used by feminist associations to promote their ideology. And I am dismayed by the images we are shown of these gangs of hysterical women who would like to lynch Dominique and his rapist friends. Some of these feminists are trying to convince us that all men are rapists who should have their ba**s cut off: they used Gisèle and, now that the court has judged, they are going to abandon a poor woman whose life has been brutally destroyed. And she is going to have to figure out how to move forward on her own, cure herself of the illnesses that were transmitted to her by the rapists, reorganize her material and emotional life, etc...
Elle va être la victime une deuxième fois !

[MAD87]

@Biloute She'll be a victim for the rest of her (destroyed) life. I don't agree with your last paragraph at all - sexual abuse needs to be aired in France. It hasn't been up to now: your "associations" have been banging their heads against a brick wall for generations.
I've been sickened by the excuses of the men involved in this case - don't forget that' there's video evidence of their crimes, which she courageously decided should be shown in open court. That takes guts, guts which the criminals involved haven't got. Sorry Biloute, but you have to be a woman to understand.

[MAD87]

There were 20 other men the police didn't manage to track down. I hope they're sweating with fear.

[Biloute]

@MAD87 I am not saying that these crimes should be hidden. I agree that they should be punished severely and that the names of the criminals and their sentences should be published. This is necessary to show that Justice is there and to dissuade other people from committing similar crimes. But when I say that it goes too far, I mean that social networks and protest marches are filled with amateur prosecutors and judges who have shouting contests without knowing the details. It is as if we have returned to the American Wild West where anyone could end up hanging from a tree without any form of serious judgment.
We have a Justice system made up of professionals. It may not be perfect but let it work!
I do not agree with your last sentence: only fanatic feminists think that a man cannot understand... Of course, there is an "anatomical" difference but men can also be harassed. Any man who, like me, has had women above and below him in the hierarchical ladder will know what I'm talking about... It's a physically different harassment, of course, but just as destructive morally...

[Blaze]

Totally agree @MAD87.

@Biloute Personally I haven't read any of the social media hype about the case. I'm not interested in the opinions of fanatic feminists who are using the case to promote their own views. It's insulting to a courageous woman who is trying to change things in a dignified and legal way.

Justice has been served even if many are not satisfied with the sentences. As I've already said, I only hope they serve their full time ....
What those men did is indefensible and it is fortunate that Dominique Pelicot was so sure of himself that he kept videos and records.

Here is an article from the Guardian which gives a brief description of the men involved. If you read the article, you will see that most of these men had suffered some form of abuse in childhood. It clearly shows that abused children can repeat the pattern and become the abusers themselves.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... le-pelicot

[Pathca]

Well we have been watching different things because I haven’t seen crowds of rampaging feminists wanting to chop men’s b@lls off or feminist associations promoting an ideology I have seen people supporting a brave lady who has suffered horrifically

[suein56]

I haven’t seen crowds of rampaging feminists wanting to chop men’s b@lls off or feminist associations promoting an ideology I have seen people supporting a brave lady who has suffered horrifically

There seems to have a big difference between the scenes shown on UK tv to those shown in France. The UK presentation showed more of the support for Mme P than the derision for the perpetrators.

[Biloute]

I haven’t seen crowds of rampaging feminists wanting to chop men’s b@lls off or feminist associations promoting an ideology I have seen people supporting a brave lady who has suffered horrifically

There seems to have a big difference between the scenes shown on UK tv to those shown in France. The UK presentation showed more of the support for Mme P than the derision for the perpetrators.

@suein56: You got it right. Here, OH turns on English TVs most of the day and we only watch French channels at meal times. What a difference in what is shown! Two different ways, no doubt, of influencing the public... Yesterday, at the end of the trial, there was, in front of the courthouse gates, a group of women on the verge of mass hysteria. They were protesting because the judges had been less severe than the prosecutors' demands. They held up signs that read "judges accomplices of rapists" or "men = rapists" and their screams were similar, if not worse. I wouldn't have given much for the skin of the criminals or even the judges if they had left through that door... It reminded me of the scenes of the liberation of Paris at the end of WWII when women who had slept with Germans were shaved, stripped and beaten to death by the "public tribunal"...
I think that the English channels are right to limit themselves to the essentials and not to let these fanatics advertise themselves in front of the cameras.

[Pathca]

M Pellicot is apparently being to be investigated for a rape murder in Paris many years ago and an attempted rape in Paris a few years later where the DNA evidence was messed up Just before he began his abuse of his wife he was arrested for up skirting and she wasn’t informed. People tend to belittle the ‘lesser’ sexual offences ie flashing or up skirting but so often they are gateway crimes leading to more major incidents

[MAD87]

@MAD87
We have a Justice system made up of professionals. It may not be perfect but let it work!

Professionals? I've often wondered about that. Middle class judges who go to "judge school" and come out in their 20s knowing litte. Policmen and prosecutors who've dropped abuse cases as though their fingers have been burned, et j'en passe.

Social media isn't all bad, it has a role to play in such cases. At least it's started the ball rolling on debating the subject. Too far? Not nearly far enough, not yet anyway.

And as for the 'Wild West', that hardly applies here in a case where the main culprit put his hands up to dreadful acts recorded on film, and his cohorts have all been convicted. What's Wild Westerly about that?

I can remember cases I prosecuted in the UK which were so sickening I didn't tell my OH (a criminal advocate himself) about them.

There's plenty of abuse out there still and this case will, I hope, give women the courage to come forward and the police and courts to act appropriately.