31st October 2025
What the Pelicot case taught us about sexual violence cases: why consent laws matter
11 min read
On 2 September 2024, one family in southern France changed how the world saw survivors of sexual violence and ignited a movement that could redefine justice across the region.
Gisele Pelicot, drugged and raped over nearly a decade by more than 50 men, made a choice that few could imagine: she waived her right to anonymity. Her case became one of the most public and painful reckonings with sexual violence in modern history, exposing the cracks in how countries view survivors and perpetrators and forcing France to confront whether its existing legal definition of rape is fit to deliver justice to survivors.
Among her perpetrators was her husband, a father, grandfather, and a man most believed to be the typical family man. What followed was a national awakening that extended far beyond the trial. The Pelicot family’s courage challenged deep-rooted myths about who rape happens to, and by whom. Their persistence turned private trauma into public truth and sparked a demand for reform that continues to echo far beyond France.
Almost a year later, that demand for reform is reaching a defining moment, one that could permanently change how France defines rape in its legal code.
This week, France stands on the threshold of historic reform. Following the passage of a bill in the National Assembly, the Senate is now set to decide whether to enshrine consent into the country’s legal definition of rape, a change long demanded by survivors, advocates, and international human rights experts.
Worldwide, countless rape laws still fail to define rape based on whether a person freely and willingly consented to sex. Something so basic continues to allow perpetrators to escape justice. And that much change.
France is no exception. Its definition of rape at the time of the Pelicot trial required proof of violence, coercion, threat, or surprise, not the absence of consent. But the Pelicot case changed the conversation.
Following the verdict, French policymakers began reexamining how rape is defined in law, a move that many other countries across Europe were already building toward as part of the European Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Consent-based laws shift the focus from how a survivor responded to whether both parties participated freely, voluntarily, and without coercion. This approach not only centres survivors but aligns with international human rights standards, which affirm that consent must be:
Any sexual act without consent is rape.
In the courtroom, Gisele’s story, along with the voices of her daughter Caroline and her son David, shed light on a pattern of abuse that spanned years and implicated dozens of men and a legal system unequipped to recognise it.
During an interview, Caroline later said, “You need to talk. You need to show the world it’s not your fault. That’s how you make the change happen.”
And they did. By choosing visibility over silence, the Pelicot family transformed private pain into collective courage. Their case became a symbol of resistance, proof that when survivors speak, systems must listen.
At Equality Now’s 2025 Gala, journalist E. Jean Carroll presented the family with the Courage Award, saying, “Once upon a time, a grandmother (a very chic grandmother), who happened to be a crackerjack career woman and the chief breadwinner of her family, believed she was happily married ever after to an excellent man. In 2024, this woman, this unknown, unnoted, unsung happily married grandmother, transmogrified into a worldwide hero and feminist icon.
With videos and with court testimony, this unsung grandmother, Gisele Pelicot, and her family, forced the French, and everyone else, to recognise that rape happens not just to families…..but rape happens within families.”
Gisele’s son, David, was present to accept the award, noting, “I cannot forget all the women and children around the world who continue to suffer in silence. This award belongs to them as well. To all those who rise, who speak out, who fight, and who keep hope alive,” he concluded.
The irrefutable evidence shown to the world in Gisele Pelicot’s case forced prosecutors to uphold the rule of law, even within France’s narrow legal definition of rape, which required proof of violence, coercion, threat, or surprise. What she experienced was, without question, rape. But most survivors don’t have ample video evidence to prove what happened to them. That’s why consent-based laws are so important; they shift the focus from proving resistance to recognising whether sexual activity was freely and voluntarily agreed to.
Equally crucial are justice system operators who are trained to gather evidence in a survivor-centred way. When both the law and justice system operators applying it uphold consent, it improves access to justice and helps shift cultural norms: consent is never optional, and silence is never a yes.
At Equality Now, we believe that justice starts with the law.
Our consent campaign highlights the need to shift global rape definitions to:
We work with legal experts, grassroots organisations, and lawmakers to build systems that work for everyone.
To honour their bravery, Equality Now presented the 2025 Courage Award to the Pelicot family during the annual gala. Their story is now a movement for change.
Together, we can change the conversation. Together, we can change the law.
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