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.

  • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    The number of sexual assault victims in France increased by 33% in 2021 and nearly doubled from 2017, according to a government report. Women made up 89% of rape victims, while 96% of sexual violence perpetrators were men.

    Oh yeah, that 4% of sexual assaults being committed by women that are being totally ignored by the media is the REAL problem.

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      The police who recite such stats in my area don’t consider me a victim of my repeated assaults, specifically because of my gender. I guess I should probably pipe down and stop being so uppity and hysterical though. After all my private parts are outside of my body so they’re basically asking to be used by anyone.

      • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I don’t know where in the stats I quoted it said anything about dismissing male victims? In fact that statistic includes male victims because most sexual assault on males is committed by other males. Now if you were assaulted by a woman I’m sorry and that’s terrible, but the fact is that it’s a rarity in comparison to the acts committed by men. But all should be treated with equal seriousness. And none of it is, because men are in power and they don’t tend to consider rape or sexual assault a “real” crime.

    • Fox@pawb.social
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      5 days ago

      I’m not out to debate the statistics of “REAL problem” with you. I’m pointing out that it’s counterproductive (and I believe morally wrong) to tell survivors they’re unworthy because their abuser was a woman. I get the feeling some people care more about gendering this issue than they do about about victims of abuse.

      • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Yeah literally no one is saying that a victim of sexual assault is unworthy of anything because their assaulter is a woman and not a man. We’re talking about the issue of men thinking it’s okay to sexually assault because it’s almost never fucking prosecuted.

        Bringing up the statistic of female perpetrators is simply a way of deflecting the responsibility of men to acknowledge and hold accountability to their fellow men who commit sexual assault.

        I’ve said it elsewhere in this thread but this is exactly the same as the gun enthusiasts bringing up mental illness statistics as a way of absolving guns of their role in gun violence.

        • Skates@feddit.nl
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          5 days ago

          Thread has a photo of a sign saying “not all men but always a man”.

          Bringing up the statistic of female perpetrators is simply a way of deflecting the responsibility of

          No. Bringing up the statistic is a way of correcting an intentionally skewed view that is vilifying men for no fucking reason. If you’re gonna be a dick about things, don’t go crying when you get shafted.

          • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            Since men are the primary perpetrators it’s not skewed not even a little bit. Yes, there are women who commit sexual assault but the number of women who do it is such a small percentage as to be almost statistically insignificant compared to the number of men who do.

            Men commit sexual assault every single day and barely 5% of them get prosecuted for it. And every person who claps back with this idiotic argumentative excuse that “women do it too” is just feeding into a system that has made this world completely unsafe for women.

            • Skates@feddit.nl
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              5 days ago

              men are the primary perpetrators

              the number of women who do it is such a small percentage as to be almost statistically insignificant compared to the number of men who do.

              Men commit sexual assault every single day

              barely 5% of them get prosecuted for it.

              Citation needed

              Listen, it’s very obvious we’re not on the same page. You’re responding to a comment thread that contains a comment literally contradicting most of your points, and you’re not being rational about it. You’re spouting wild claims with little regard for backing them up - it’s as if în your head, they’re axioms and not only do they not require proof, but invalidating them would mean the rest of the world crumbles. And I’m sure for you, that’s true.

              All things considered, continuing this “discussion” brings no value to either of us. Have a good one.

              • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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                5 days ago

                Citation needed

                Yeah, this just told me everything I need to know. I didn’t even read the rest of your comment. I’m just going to downvote you and move on.

                • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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                  4 days ago

                  My guy, he provided numbers and sources while you’ve been arguing from an emotional standpoint only.

                  Take a deep breath.

                  • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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                    4 days ago

                    I have provided numbers and sources all throughout this post on several other comments. I don’t feel like reposting it everywhere constantly. In fact the one he was asking for a “citation” on is literally in the article which they clearly did not bother reading. And nothing I say is actually going to change his view or the other people who are downvoting me. And I am absolutely certain they are downvoting me because of their “feelings” and not because of any data. So you can try to high road me but you just sound like an ass.

    • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 days ago

      Yeah, the victims of women are just babies who should quit crying about being a victim. As if it’s a REAL problem, right? Who gives a shit, they’re just men they don’t have any feelings they’re just here for our entertainment.

    • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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      You being downvoted shows that men are never going to listen to women about this.

      96% of perpetrators are men. It’s a statistic that goes against their “women are abusers too!” defense they have to protect their own egos from the reality that one of their friends is likely an abuser.

      • discount_door_garlic@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        96% of perpetrators are men. It’s a statistic that goes against their “women are abusers too!” defense they have to protect their own egos from the reality that one of their friends is likely an abuser.

        literally rape apology from you here.

        The provocative and stupid sign in the article has completely derailed a potential discussion about fixing this problem and the exact nature of the problem - because it says something that denies anybody experiencing something outside it’s narrow statement their lived experience. It’s also not a men vs women issue - there are women that are assaulted by other women, who are equally silenced by this stupid sign. If you believe that a single rape is one too many (as any person on the fucking planet should), then explain to me how 4% of all rapes simply don’t matter - and how it isn’t offensive at a movement which is borne of abuse victims fighting against the system that facilitates it, and silences victims - to not only completely disregard men that have been victims of women (or women which have), but to then say that anybody who highlights the fact that rape can be perpetrated by a woman, even if it isn’t the majority of the time - must therefore be a rapist or friend of one. Fuck that noise.

        stop making dumbass generalisations that paint those of us who make active choices to support women and act decently, being an ally as “probably having rapist friends” because of our gender - like seriously what the actual fuck is wrong with you?

        Nobody is denying that the majority of rapes are men against women, but the disgusting attitude you have here that all men are automatically rapists, when there are people that want to fix this culture and stop the problem - but stupid nonsense like this pushes so many people down the alt-right pipeline and sets the entire movement back decades. Literally all you have to do to defuse this entire fucking issue is acknowledge male victims instead of pretending they don’t exist, and then link arms with them when they support the same reflections and changes to society and behaviour - instead it’s been turned into a stupid ‘men vs women’ fight by people that assume all people of one gender are perpetrators and all of another are victims, instead of the much more simple universal truth that rape is evil and you should just be able to accept that without adding qualifiers.

      • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        From your article, “In fact, 96 percent of women who report rape or sexual assault in the NCVS were abused by men.”

        • kofe@lemmy.world
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          Plus, when has a man ever been drugged and gang raped by only women? That’s what’s even more disturbing about this case.

          • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            5 days ago

            Oh so we can only care about male victims of rape if they’re gangraped now? Gotta admit this is a new one on me, most just tell me I must have enjoyed it both times women raped me because I’m a man.

            Who gives a shit about all that though, because one of them got me drunk so I wasn’t “drugged” and there was only one of her, and the other was also singular and only used blackmail rather than intoxicants. Besides, men don’t have feelings anyway they’re like fish. I don’t even think they’re people, are they?

              • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                4 days ago

                You replied in addition to a comment that is attempting to erase male victims experiences by waving them away as “only 4%.” Thus, you saying “plus it’s not like men are drugged and gangraped” reads as a tag on why we can further ignore male victims of rape, “because women have it worse” being the implication.

                • kofe@lemmy.world
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                  We are not attempting to “erase male victims.” I understand this is an extremely triggering topic as a victim myself. We are pointing out the difference in experiences that clearly exist. I am sorry you were harmed, both in the past and through my comment, but I ask that you take time to take care of yourself and think about the disparities between those numbers and experiences. No one should be victimized as you were, and certainly no one should go through what the women did in this trial. Can you understand the difference?

      • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Ok Mr False Equivalency. That study is from 2017. This one is from 2015.
        That Scientific American article and study also pertain to America. And the statistic in the article is from the French government report from 2021.

        Edit: I couldn’t find the statistics from 2021 but I could find this one from 2024. And would you look at that, the statistics on the percentage of male rapists in France is even higher now.