This article discusses sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers. The Kingston Sexual Assault Centre’s 24-hour crisis and support phone line can be reached at 613-544-6424 / 1-800-544-6424. The Centre’s online chat feature can be reached here.
For far too long, rape culture has granted impunity to perpetrators, while leaving survivors to suffer in the shadows.
In an ongoing rape trial in Avignon, France, 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot is fighting to take back her life after a decade of being drugged and sexually assaulted by over 83 men. Shattering all concept of consent, respect, and trust, Pelicot’s then husband of 50 years invited strangers to enter their home and her body.
These assaults, which took place in Pelicot’s own home and involved those from within her town, have shocked the French community and sparked anger from women’s rights activists. This case serves as a shocking reminder that it’s time we confronted the ugly truth: the ubiquity of sexual assault transcends particular environments and individuals—it’s a systemic product of their culture. This rape culture, in which many are complicit, penetrates our institutions and systems, including the ones meant to protect survivors.
Until we admit there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to who is involved in the perpetual culture of harm, there will be no escape from it.
Pelicot’s trial demonstrates how a whole community can be complicit in a wrong and disgusting act. Of the 83 men directly involved—and likely many others who knew of the rapes—none expressed concern for Pelicot or contacted authorities, despite having direct evidence. In Pelicot’s case, it was through chance—when the police caught her ex-husband trying to film up the skirts of women in the supermarket—that the authorities caught onto his previous heinous acts. It’s easy to wonder how long this would’ve gone on for otherwise.
Collective silence and a willingness to turn a blind eye enables people to commit unspeakable deeds with little remorse, and for offenders to become repeat offenders. Survivors coming forward is only part of the process. When offenders aren’t getting caught, or when justice isn’t being served, consider the culture we live in: there’s often a whole community behind them that chooses to remain silent over supporting survivors.
Herein lies the root of rape culture. The culture of allowing sexual violence to become common place not only teaches women to expect rape, but also encourages survivors to self-blame when it happens. As mentioned by numerous women in light of Pelicot’s case, dismissing sexualization and inappropriate behaviour as typical “French humour” is such a product of rape culture.
Teaching women they are responsible for mitigating violence when it inevitably falls upon them, reinforces this very violence as a normalcy of daily life, and perpetuates the normalization of rape into our culture. Instead, these efforts must swing the other way, to deter offenders from acting in the first place.
We like to think such incidents are isolated attacks, but they’re just one instance among a web of persistent behaviours, repeated by offenders and bystanders who enable them.
Pelicot’s voice doesn’t fall on deaf ears—her courage to testify and expose the details of her case speaks volumes to those still finding a voice. The publicization of her case in international media, however, shouldn’t take away from those whose experiences aren’t so visible. We must find a way to support and empower survivors, while holding offenders accountable for their crimes.
Being violated by someone close, loved, and trusted is a tough reality to reconcile, and people don’t deserve to go about it alone. The promise of safety and justice isn’t a burden for only women to carry out, especially when those around them have the means to speak up and help.
So long as a rape culture exists, women won’t feel safe anywhere in the world and these cases will continue to occur. The only difference is we won’t know about them.
—Journal Editorial Board
Tags
rape culture, Sexual Assault, sexual violence, silence
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