Dominique Pelicot and Conor McGregor: Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Europe and Deconstructing Victim-Shame Culture
By Anna-Katharina Priesterath, News Editor
Martial arts fighter Conor McGregor made headlines recently after being found liable for raping Nikita Hand in a hotel room in Dublin in 2018. During the duration of the trial, Nikita Hand and her family received hate mail and even death threats. McGregor has to pay Hand a sum of €250,000. As a consequence of his crime, many supermarkets in Ireland and the UK stopped selling alcoholic beverages associated with him (source: The Guardian). Despite the court’s decision and respective evidence, many of his supporters and McGregor continue denying his crime. Followers of McGregor voiced their opinions of Hand falsely accusing McGregor of several motives. While it is difficult to settle on a specific number of false allegation cases, different studies have shown that only between 2-8% of sexual assault reports are false (source: End Violence Against Women International).
Another court trial that has been causing public outrage and discussions and is spreading throughout international media is the one of Dominique Pelicot. People worldwide have been following the court hearings, exposing more and more disturbing details of the abuse and personal information about the family. Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and raped by her (now ex-) husband Dominique Pelicot who also invited over 50 other men that he found online to rape Ms Pelicot across a decade. He taped the abuse and uploaded videos online. Dominique Pelicot was caught filming under women’s skirts. A house search led to reveal evidence of the decade-long abuse of his ex-wife (source: Sky News). Ms Pelicot was experiencing unexplainable health issues that were a result of physical violence and drugging. The abuse has been well-planned.
Ms Pelicot decided to open the court trial to the public. The trial started in September this year and will be closed on December 20th. Her decision to open the court trial to the public is not only making herself extremely vulnerable but fortunately also allows her to deconstruct the stereotypical anonymous image of a rapist and expose her abusers. Dominique Pelicot not only abused his former wife during their marriage, but house searches also found evidence of nude pictures he took of other family members, including his daughter and, at that time, pregnant daughter-in-law (source: BBC). While this case has been alarming to follow, it has sparked discussions on victim-blaming and the shame culture surrounding victims of abuse. Feminists started protesting on the streets, and crowds of supporters of Ms Pelicot started gathering in front of the courtroom, applauding her and expressing their solidarity. Ms Pelicot stated that she aims to push away the shame put on victims of sexual abuse and redirect it back to the abusers. By speaking up she aims to encourage other survivors to report their abusers and not stay silent.
Reuters: Manon Cruz
Dominique Pelicot will face 20 years in prison, the maximum penalty for rape in France. As of now, not all men who have participated in his gruesome plan have been identified. The 51 men that have attended court so far will most likely not face the same penalty Mr Pelicot will have to face. While the majority of attention is put on Dominique Pelicot, it is undeniable how shocking it is that over 50 men knew of his plan, saw videos of the rape, and agreed to join, and not one single man decided to report the abuse to the police. On December 16th, the defendants had the floor one last time. Dominique Pelicot took the opportunity to ask his family for forgiveness.
According to the European Commission, ‘Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person because of that person's gender or violence that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately.’ Statistics published by the World Health Organization show that one in three women worldwide has experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence. While gender-based violence is not a new problem, it is certainly still stigmatized with a big shame culture. Efforts to create safer environments and dismantle structures that enable violence are not being made which results in a growing number of disturbing cases worldwide but also right where we are. In addition, a widespread belief in questioning victims and whether their claims are false is counterproductive to deconstruct the stigma around victims of abuse. Recognizing that the number of false accusations is very little compared to truthful accusations is important to deconstruct misogynistic stereotypes, to properly support survivors, to raise public awareness, and to address violence accordingly.
It is important to report on cases such as the one of Dominique Pelicot or Conor McGregor to raise awareness in Europe. Gender-based violence is taking place everywhere in the world and while there are many reports of abuse in the global South, we have to recognize the cases happening right in front of our eyes as well.
Earlier this month, in a recently released documentary, German women living on the island of Borkum spoke up about being beaten by several men during the Christmas festivities of Klaasohm. This was followed by an outburst of public outrage. For many, it was shocking to see this kind of violence taking place on a German island, known to be a peaceful holiday destination. While inhabitants of Borkum argue that these festivities and the beatings of women are traditions, it is undeniable that violence cannot be excused with cultural heritage.
Cases of gender-based violence are being more discussed and acknowledged and while that is an important step into dismantling these acts of violence, we have to also call them what they are. Gender-based violence is not equal to violence. It is crucial to recognize the cause of these crimes. While some motives are not clear yet, in the case of Dominique Pelicot several more court hearings will hopefully bring light to more details and lead to the family moving on from the case, the target in all of these crimes were women.
