The Case of Gisèle Pelicot: An Investigation Into Rape Culture, Masculinity, and Male Fantasy

When the mass rape trial of Gisèle Pelicot came to an end in December last year, it left behind lingering questions about rape culture and modern-day notions of masculinity and male desire. The case found Dominique Pelicot guilty of drugging and raping his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, then advertising his ‘sleeping beauty’ to other men. Using the anti-anxiety medication, Temesta, Dominique was found harbouring 700 tablets, deliberately experimenting with dosages, and slipping these into Gisele’s tea or dessert to render her unconscious. Alongside him on trial were 50 other men, of whom 47 were found guilty of attempted rape, and 2 guilty of sexual assault. Jailed for a collective total of 421 years, the names of these 50 men have since been revealed by the BBC. The list of men contained firefighters, security guards, journalists and a soldier. These men have been nicknamed “Monsieur Tout-Le-Monde” (“the everyman”). The consequent revelation of these identities has brewed troubles already identified by the recent MeToo and Not All Men movements, all of which re-emphasise the shocking prevalence of sexual assaults and misconduct against women. 

For a case involving so many offenders, it is perhaps even worse that this crime was caught by accident. Having already been arrested and fined for upskirting in 2010, Dominique Pelicot was caught, a decade later, secretly upskirting women in a French shopping centre by a security guard. It was only upon checking his phone, that the police discovered a shocking total of 20,000 photos and videos of Dominique’s sexual offences. Saved within a file called ‘abuse’, were photos and videos of Gisèle lying naked, being raped, as well as photos of Dominique’s adult daughter asleep and partially naked. When these images were shown to Gisèle, 10 years of abuse and sexual violence was brought to light and to the law. 

The case itself revealed the horrific extent of sexual violence committed against Gisèle. Given that most of these men didn’t wear condoms, Gisèle developed 4 different sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with lawyer Anne Martinet asserting she “was very lucky not to have contracted HIV, syphilis or hepatitis”. Lasting over the course of 10 years, it is believed that Gisele may have been raped as many as 100 times. Furthermore, there are 30 men also believed to be involved, who are still yet to be identified. 

Throughout the case, many of the 50 have combatted allegations of carrying out rape. Jacques Cubeau, a former fire officer who had been married for 25 years, denied rape, insisting he believed it was a game by the couple and that he was a “giving person”, who was respectful of women. Husamettin Dogan, who gave up his job to care for his disabled son, stated rather adamantly “I’m not a rapist.” Iterating the plain but effective statement “rape is rape” in response, Gisele rebutted these denials, questioning how these men were unable to recognise the immorality and illegality of penetrating an unconscious body. Even Dominique himself seemed to recognise this. Charged with a 20-year sentence, the longest possible in French law, Dominique admitted in the courtroom: “Today, I maintain that I am a rapist, like those concerned in this room. They all knew her condition before they came, they knew everything, they cannot say otherwise”. 

Further evidence suggests this is indeed the case. Advertised on a French swinger’s website under the anonymous email address ‘Fetish45’, Dominique invited these men to rape his wife on the chat room condemningly named ‘Without her knowledge’. 

Likened to a “murder weapon” by Gisele’s lawyer, the website highlights the dark shadows of the internet, raising concerns regarding the ease of access afforded to such horrific assaults. After all, it was the internet and website which enabled Dominique’s grotesque behaviour to spread.

Indeed, a re-examination of accessible and advertised sexual content online is essential. At what point does porn, and the exploration of kinks and fetishes, encourage the actualisation of a mass rape of an unconscious woman? The availability of online porn presents itself as a vital underlying issue. According to a UK Survey in 2024, 1 in 10 respondents aged between 25 and 49 years reported watching porn most days. On a more worrying note, the age group accessing this content appears to be getting younger and younger; with a 2023 study by Dame Rachel de Souza finding that 25% of 16–21-year-olds first saw pornography online whilst in primary school. Exposed from a young age, the internet has aided in normalising more graphic and violent sexualised behaviour, with individuals gradually becoming desensitised to this content. The implications of this, particularly on the younger generation of men, are clear. For the first time, last year the word misogyny was introduced to primary schools’ behaviour policies and harmful sexualised behaviour has since become a prevalent safeguarding issue amongst these ages. 

The consequence of this; an emerging gender divide in Gen Z. Data from Gallup has shown that for the first time in decades, there is a significant ideological divide between men and women, with the former belonging to more conservative views and the latter exercising more liberal behaviour. And this divide is occurring globally: in the US, there is a 30-point gap between the political ideologies of 18-30 year old women and men. In the UK, a 25-point gap is prevalent and in Poland, this gap expands even further, with 50% of men between 18-21 years old supporting the country’s hard-right confederation party.

Once again, the internet appears to be exacerbating this gap, giving platforms to self-proclaimed misogynists such as Andrew Tate. Tweeting to his 10.5 million followers on X, Tate spouts hypermasculine rhetoric, declaring “feminism is a lie, and women have zero power without men” and that “women don’t think.” Unsurprisingly, Tate is a supporter of Donald Trump, who also notoriously speaks about women in both objectifying and derogatory terms, as well as creating policies that severely damage the reproductive rights of women. 

Gisele Pelicot’s mass rape trial shocked not only France, but the world. But we fail to see that the seeds for this behaviour are already omnipresent. Objectifying and sexist language permeates the speech of powerful figures in our society, idealising the dangerous conception of aspiring to become an alpha-male. Furthermore, graphic, harmful, sexualised behaviour is widespread online, to the extent where chatrooms advertising the rape of a woman were given room to surface and spread across unregulated online spheres. 

Deemed a ‘public health crisis’ by the House of Commons, there is an evident link between the pornographic content online and the exploitative, violent and misogynistic behaviour which ensues. In surrendering her anonymity, Gisèle Pelicot has made her story a powerful example of just how far these issues can escalate. Whilst the case has now reached its close, it is important that we remember the bravery shown by Gisèle Pelicot, who has refused to be a victim and has transformed her experience into one of heroic resilience. Now, the world must both listen and learn from her courage.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/TVA Nouvelles

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