The story of Gisele Pelicot has been haunting me ever since I heard about it.

For those who haven’t heard - Gisele was drugged by her husband and raped by over 80 men. He would invite them to come assault her while she was unconscious - and she only found out when police investigated him in connection with filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket.

I just found out that Gisele had gone to multiple doctors while the abuse was ongoing. She had concerns about blackouts, memory loss and vaginal bruising. She was dismissed every time. Told it was in her head or part of getting older.

This is why I talk about misogyny in medicine. About the importance of believing women and recognizing they’re the experts in their bodies. She KNEW something was wrong.

She couldn’t possibly know WHAT - because she was being drugged by a man she loved and trusted. But her body knew. So she went to get help from the doctors she trusted.

Imagine if they had really listened. If they had done a physical exam and found STIs? If they had done labs and found traces of drugs. It’s possible the doctors could have found evidence of abuse and stopped her from going home to a man who was causing her tremendous harm. At the very least there were enough warning signs to involve social work and investigate. The fact that the abuse went on for a decade and NO medical professional helped her? Its horrific.

They compounded her trauma by making her think it was all in her head (and at one point she was worried she was developing Alzheimer’s).

This is all too much. I feel overwhelmed with anger, sadness and grief for Gisele. For myself. For all women who’ve been victims of assault. For everyone who’s been dismissed and ignored by doctors they trusted to help them.

She is incredibly brave allowing her story and trial to be public - and I ask people not to look away. Say her name. Share her story. Let men know they WILL be held accountable. That we won’t suffer in shame and silence anymore.

Finally - to all the healthcare workers out there - please listen to your patients. Don’t dismiss someone without making sure you aren’t missing something. We can’t diagnose ourselves… we’re counting on you.

I found this article earlier which sums up a lot of what I’m feeling and can’t quite say yet: https://open.substack.com/pub/carolinecriadoperez/p/invisible-women-not-all-menbut-how?r=19dk2e&utm_medium=ios

#rape #abuse #consent #misogyny #notallmen #misogynyinmedicine #giselepelicot #bodilyautonomy #patriarchy #neglect #womensrights #womenshealth #believewomen