More women than men gathered today in front of the Avignon courthouse in the south of France, following the trial of a multiple rape case and advocating changes in French legislation and society.
"I think there should be many more people here and I also think it should be filmed and broadcast on television with the faces of all these people wearing masks. That's why I came," Jesus, 70, one of the few men who went to see the apparatus in person, told Lusa.
In court, the main defendant, Dominique Pelicot, 71, pleaded guilty today to having drugged his wife Gisèle, also 71, for ten years, raping her and allowing dozens of men he recruited on the Internet to rape her while she was unconscious.
Jesus, who described himself as a husband, father and grandfather, also hopes that "not only French society, but all of Europe and not only women, but men too" can be impacted by this case so that something changes in the future.
Dozens of people arrived before 9:00 local time (8:00 Lisbon time) until lunchtime to watch the hearing, which was marked by Dominique's first testimony since the trial began on September 2nd, after a week's absence due to her health condition.
The court's broadcast room proved to be too small for the number of people, who took turns watching the trial for a few hours via a projection of the room where the hearing was taking place.
Outside, in a calm atmosphere, people, mostly women of all ages, waited patiently in line and talked about the case with each other, expressing shock, support for Giséle and what they hope will happen to the accused.
"It's a shame, it's a case that should affect everyone, but not just committed men and women, and for example, if we look at the court, almost only women came and that's a shame", lamented Rachel, 23 years old.
The young woman also criticized French men, believing that most are aware of the concepts of "consent and rape", but there is a part that they do not seem to understand and this is "a question of greater depth", not just of education.
In addition to Dominique Pelicot, 50 other men are being tried for allegedly raping Gisèle Pelicot, now divorced.
"I'm here because I'm a woman, this interests me, because she's a woman who is almost my age", Gisèle, 67, told Lusa, adding that she came to the trial to "support the victim and her children, because she is not alone in there, she has her whole family who are confused" by the case.
Referring to the victim with whom she shares the same name, Gisèle believes that "she is a woman who has a lot of courage", adding that the "delicate trial" is necessary "to try to make men understand that they need to stop for a while".
"It is not common for there to be more defendants than victims" in these types of cases, "this never happens", Mathys, a 19-year-old student, told Lusa, who tried to watch the trial during her work break.
The student, who lives near Mazan, where Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot lived at the time of the events, said that the case is "frightening" due to the "enormous" number of defendants, "is widely publicized" and "the sentences must be as long as possible".
For Elea, too, "the trial is so public and covered by the media that now everyone knows about it and no one will be able to forget it".
"This is a woman who did not see what happened to her and who is just asking for her life back and now has to deal with monsters", described Elea, 18 years old.
This case “can affect anyone, so if I’m here, why could they have touched me as a woman?” said Syam, a 19-year-old law student, referring to the need to listen to the victim and “do her justice”. France needs to “strengthen the laws regarding penalties for rape and sexual violence” because they are not “punishable enough”, he argued. Dozens of journalists also waited outside the room, with their cameras ready for when the door opened. The accused were the first to leave, all with masks on their faces, and the crowd became agitated, surrounding the hall until the exit, shouting for them to take off their masks and show their faces.
“They should all go to prison, but not just for a year. They should all go to at least 20 years,” said Jesus, adding that “it’s a shame that the death penalty no longer exists” in France. Jesus, who has shown himself to be a great supporter of Gisèle Pelicot, believes that something should change in education so that "women no longer have to keep it to themselves" when they suffer rape.
"It's good that this trial was not closed so that people know what is happening", so that they can "see the faces of the accused" and "help Mrs Pelicot, because she has courage", he said.
When Gisèle Pelicot left, accompanied by her lawyers and the cameras, people, including Jesus, came forward to see her, applaud and offer words of encouragement such as "bravo, madam!", "courage!" and "thank you!".
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