“It is difficult to imagine a form of violence that poses a greater challenge to peace than sexual violence. » Catherine Mayer, is sure: “no one deserves the Nobel Peace Prize more than Gisèle Pelicot”, wrote this Briton who launched a petition so that the Frenchwoman receives the prestigious prize.
She broadcast it in English on the Change.org site on December 20, the day after the end of the trial with worldwide repercussions of the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants. “It is time to ensure that the Nobel committee and the few people authorized to nominate people act,” explained Catherine Mayer. The petition appeared on Wednesday in French on the site. It was signed by more than 35,000 people.
“Happy that so many people signed”
Catherine Mayer co-founded the Women’s Equality party (WE), which campaigned for more equality between the sexes before it disbanded last year. She has been a journalist and is also the author of several books, including a biography of Charles, then Prince of Wales, in 2015 (Charles : The heart of a king).
“I am happy that so many people have signed and I hope that many others will,” Catherine Mayer commented to AFP. “By making the decision to make her identity and her story public, Gisèle Pelicot made it possible to overcome the myths about sexual violence which is systemic and endemic, a war against women and girls,” she added, explaining that she had started the petition “to reinforce this message”.
A global icon
Gisèle Pelicot has become an icon because of her courage in the face of her rapists. She was sedated with anxiolytics by her husband and raped in her sleep for ten years by him and dozens of men he invited.
By refusing to hold the debates behind closed doors, this septuagenarian brought the Mazan rape affair into the list of major trials in the history of feminism. The courts sentenced Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband to the maximum sentence, i.e. 20 years of criminal imprisonment, and declared all of his co-defendants guilty. Among the latter, several appealed their convictions.
