Five unanswered questions in the case

French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot walked out of a court in southern France for the last time on Thursday after her ex-husband was sentenced to 20 years for raping and raping her, and invited dozens of strangers to abuse her for almost a decade.

Dominique Pelicot, 72, was found guilty by a judge in Avignon. He was in court with 50 other men, all of whom were found guilty of at least one crime, although their sentences were less than what prosecutors wanted.

Although the case is over, there are still questions about Pelicot’s case and what will happen next.

When she walked up the steps of the Avignon court for the first time in September, no one knew Gisèle Pelicot’s name. Over the next 15 weeks, her reputation as a rape victim who refused to be ashamed of what had been done to her grew dramatically.

When he left the court Thursdaycrowds of hundreds chanted his name and his picture was on the front pages of newspapers all over the world.

Now she is probably one of the most famous women in France. This means that although she has changed her name, she will not be able to return to the unknown place that helped her a lot as she tried to rebuild her life following the revelation of her husband’s crime.

Gisèle is not the first person whose unimaginable suffering has made her an icon. At great personal cost, he has become a symbol of a war he never chose. Therefore, it seems unlikely that she would want to be an outspoken activist against gender-based violence, or a prominent feminist. Instead, he may return to what he said has always given him comfort: music, long walks and chocolate – and his seven grandchildren.

“At the beginning of the trial he said: ‘If I stay for two weeks, it will be big.’ In the end, he succeeded for three and a half months,” said his lawyer Stephane Babonneau. “Now, he’s at peace, and it’s all over.”

Days after Dominique Pelicot’s crime came to light, his daughter Caroline Darian was called to the police station and shown photos of an apparently unconscious woman wearing unfamiliar underwear. Later, he said his life “stopped” when he realized she was looking at his pictures.

Her father has always denied touching her, but Caroline – whose grief and sorrow was visible in many courtrooms – said she would never believe him and accused him of looking at her with “relative eyes”.

But the lack of evidence of the abuse Caroline believes he inflicted on her has led her to say she is the “forgotten victim” of the trial. That view has been reflected in his relationship with his mother. In her memoir – published after her father’s arrest – she accused Gisèle of not showing enough support, apparently choosing to side with her rapist ex-husband instead of her daughter.

Although Gisèle and her children sat next to each other in court, often whispering to each other, there have been signs of the damage the case has caused to their relationship.

On Friday, Caroline’s brother David highlighted – as he has done before – that the case was not only about Gisèle but about their whole “mutilated family”.

“We children felt we had been forgotten,” he said. “To be honest, I feel that even though our lawyers are doing an excellent job in protecting our mother, we have been ignored.”

In her memoir, Caroline lamented “Gisèle’s denial as a way of coping”.

“Because of my father,” he wrote, “now I am losing my mother.”

Except for Dominique, all the prison sentences given to the defendants were less than what the prosecutors wanted.

Several of the defendants’ lawyers are apparently complacent, meaning they are unlikely to encourage their clients to challenge their sentences. The man, Jean-Pierre Maréchal, received 12 years – five less than prosecutors had asked for – and his lawyer Patrick Gontard told the BBC there was “no question” he would appeal.

The months or years the men spend in pre-trial detention will count towards the end of their sentences, meaning some could be released soon after serving their minimum time.

One 17-year-old man was sentenced to eight years in prison, and his lawyer Roland Marmillot told the BBC that because he has already served many years in prison, he is likely to be released soon.

Nevertheless, the morning after the trial was closed, the two men who had been in prison for 8 years had appealed the case. More is expected to follow in the next ten days – appeals period may be included.

Dominique Pelicot admitted to assaulting and attempting to rape a 23-year-old agent, known only as Marion, in the Paris area in 1999. A cloth filled with ether was placed in his mouth but he was able to fight off the attacker. he got out and ran away. It was only in 2021, after he was arrested for the crimes he committed against his wife Gisèle, that Pelicot’s DNA was mixed with a bloodstain found on Marion’s shoe, and he pleaded guilty.

However, he has pleaded not guilty to another cold case – the rape and murder of another young real estate agent, Sophie Narme, in 1991, for which there is no DNA. Investigators argued that the two cases showed too many similarities to be coincidental.

Other cold cases where the same modi operandi was used are also considered.

“It will be ‘before’ and it will be ‘after’ the Pelicot trial,” the Paris man told the BBC in the early days of the trial.

For many, this feeling has grown over the past few months when the intense media coverage of Pelicot’s case has sparked many discussions about rape, consent and gender-based violence.

“What we have to do is have a lot of harsh sentences,” Nicolas and Mehdi, two residents of Mazan, told the BBC. They said they were disgusted when they found out that one of the defendants was a man they played football with.

“If they get long sentences they will at least think twice before doing things like this,” adding that it was “unfair” that some men could be released from prison in the next few months.

It is noteworthy, however, that the risk of receiving a 20-year prison sentence for violent rape did not stop Dominique Pelicot from offering his unconscious wife to be raped by strangers he met online.

There have been calls to change French rape law to include consent, but that has stalled in the past and will take a lot of work in the now divided French parliament.

Some have argued that schools have a responsibility to better teach the new generations about sex, love and harmony. Béatrice Zavarro, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, said she believes that “change will not come from the Department of Justice but from the Department of Education.”

Françoise, a resident of the area where Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot lived, told the BBC that she thinks a way must be found to bridge the gap between what children are taught in school and what they can access online.

“Young people are exposed to sex on the internet and at the same time schools are cruel,” she said. “They have to be more open and frank to compare and explain what the children see.”

What this exchange shows is that, although it will take time before any changes are seen, the conversation has now begun. It will continue until there are no more unanswered questions.