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Gisèle Pelicot’s harrowing rape trial adapted as gut-wrenching stage play
Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband was sentenced to 20 years for drugging her and inviting strangers to rape her. 51 other accused were handed guilty verdicts.
Gisèle Pelicot’s trial, in which her former husband and 51 other accused were handed guilty verdicts, has been turned into a stage play by Swiss director and playwright Milo Rau, reported the Guardian.
The director said that the play is about looking at rape culture. Pelicot waived her right to anonymity to ensure a public trial of her ex-husband and the other accused. She said she wanted “all of society to be a witness” and “shame must change sides” while opting for the public trial.
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Her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, drugged her and invited men through an online forum to rape her for almost a decade. Dominique Pelicot’s crimes came to light when police searched his laptop, after he was arrested for taking photos up women’s skirts, and found evidence of men raping Gisèle Pelicot.
“We see really what culture they’re coming from, the patriarchal system, fraternity and rape culture that produces this,” Rau told the Guardian.
He added, “There was a moment of growing awareness in this city, but also in this country and in civilisation as a whole, to understand human relationships and how they have developed under a regime of capitalism, a regime of internet pornography, patriarchy, and drug-induced abuse.”
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“It’s about pulling at all the threads with the audience to understand what is it that made these men – who were so different from one another – converge on that bedroom, share recipes for drugging women, suggest women close to them who should also be raped, and doing all of that while having apparently ordinary lives. It’s very important what this says about our society today,” said Servane Dècle, the play’s co-writer.
Last week, Gisèle Pelicot was presented with France’s top civic honour, the Legion d’Honneur, in recognition of her determination and bravery.
