They line up in front of a courthouse in southeastern France, from morning to evening, and have gathered in the thousands in cities across the country. They hold signs reading, “one rape every six minutes,” “not all men but always a man,” and “giving in is not consenting.”
They chant: “Rapist we see you, victim we believe you.”
Women across France are rallying in support of Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old reluctant icon whose husband is on trial in the city of Avignon for systematically drugging her and inviting dozens of men, 50 of whom are now his co-defendants, into their home to rape her over nearly a decade.
The shocking case has sparked what many women in France call a long-overdue reckoning over “rape culture” and systemic sexism in the way the judicial system handles sexual violence.
Maybe stop to think about the male victims of female abusers in this fucking thread before you hand wave us away as “more rare” and “promoting rape culture” by “not being excited about being lumped in with abusers simply for having a penis while our abusers are lauded for having vaginas.” You excusing it as rare and that sign pretending women can’t rape are promoting rape culture, full stop.