Shock in French Court Shown Videos of Men Accused of Raping Drugged Woman

A leaden silence descended upon the courtroom as the videos began to play over three screens.There was Gisèle Pelicot, the victim in the center of a rape trial that has rocked France, lying on a bed on her side, her arms limp before her, her mouth open.The sound of her snoring filled the courtroom.

She appeared to be dead asleep.In the videos, she did not respond to the touches of the men, who engaged with her body in sex acts.Ms.Pelicot had fought hard for these videos to be shown publicly in the courtroom because, she said, they were incontrovertible evidence.

While most rape victims have only their word and memory of events, Ms.Pelicot has a library of proof in the form of videos and photographs — taken by her own husband.Showing them publicly was essential, her lawyer Antoine Camus told the courtroom, “to look rape straight in the eyes.”It was another astounding moment in a trial that for the past month has gripped France as if by the throat and shaken it violently.

The case has raised profound questions about relations between men and women, the prevalence of rape and conceptions of consent.More than 50 men are on trial together.Almost all are accused of aggravated rape against Ms.

Pelicot, a grandmother and retired manager at a big company, while she was in an unconscious state.Her former husband of 50 years, Dominique Pelicot, has pleaded guilty to mixing drugs into her food and drink and inviting others into their home, in a village in southern France where they had retired, to join him in raping her limp body.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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