ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
This next story discusses sexual assault. Come back in about four minutes if you'd like to miss it. The verdict in a mass rape trial taking place in southern France is expected by the end of the week. Fifty men are charged with the rape and sexual abuse of a woman who was drugged unconscious by her husband. The public trial, now in its fourth month, has shocked France and drawn media from around the world. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley tells us more.
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ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Gisele Pelicot and her lawyer emerged from the courtroom on the last day of the trial Monday. In what has become a ritual, she waded into the adoring crowd of mostly women gathered to support her. The petite septigenarian may have begun the trial in September as a victim, but she's become a hero. By refusing to let her trial take place behind closed doors, Pelicot has become a symbol of resilience and courage.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: "Stay strong, Madame Pelicot," says one woman, hugging her and handing her flowers. Supporter Chantal Cremont says Pelicot is fighting for all women.
CHANTAL CREMONT: (Through interpreter) She gave us an important gift by demanding that this trial be open for the world to see. So we have to be here to support her.
BEARDSLEY: The 15-week trial laid bare the depravity and sordid details of the 10-year period when husband Dominic Pelicot recruited men on an internet site to come rape his drugged, unconscious wife. He directed the participants and filmed it all. The thousands of hours of neatly cataloged and titled video on his computer is how he was caught. The men who participated range in age from their mid-20s to their 60s. They're Black and white, pony-tailed and balding, a sort of French working-class everyman. Mathieu Palain is the author of several books on male violence.
MATHIEU PALAIN: (Through interpreter) This frightening trial shows us that these men are not depraved criminals but actually regular guys who have wives and kids and jobs - a baker, a firefighter. They're our brothers, our fathers. And that's shocking. It would be easier to say these violent men have nothing to do with us.
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KARIM RISSOULI: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: Many French men, like prominent TV talk show host Karim Rissouli, speaking here, have expressed shame. He said French masculinity was on trial, while others reject any notions of collective guilt. The hashtag #NotAllMen has also gained prominence. That worries journalist Victoire Tuaillon, who hosts a podcast that explores male violence.
VICTOIRE TUAILLON: Most think that these men are kind of monsters, totally different from them, you know? They think that, you know, the case doesn't really concern them because they think that, I would never do that.
BEARDSLEY: But most rapes are committed by boyfriends, husbands and acquaintances, she says, and mostly go unpunished and unreported. Author Palain says the patriarchy is alive and well in France.
PALAIN: (Through interpreter) Take the idea that the man is head of the household. That was struck from French law in the '70s, but many men still think they have life and death rights over their wives and children. We saw it in the trial. Their defense was, I didn't rape her. I was given authorization by her husband.
BEARDSLEY: The victim's husband, Dominic Pelicot, admitted to the charges of rape, but many of the accused did not, despite the fact that videos of their acts were shown on large screens in the courtroom. One commented that if he wanted to rape, he would've chosen someone beautiful. Many of the accused said they had been victims of abuse themselves as children. But in 10 years, not one went to the police. The five judges will announce the verdict Thursday morning. The men risk 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence for rape in France. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Avignon.
(SOUNDBITE OF MNELIA SONG, "CLOSURE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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