Gisele Pelicot’s ex husband sentenced to twenty years in prison - and all fifty of the men tried with him have been found guilty and will serve jail time. Shame HAS changed sides.

I’m incredibly grateful for what Gisele has accomplished. She flipped the narrative. She gave up her right to privacy and anonymity so that the whole world could see what these monsters did to her. She refused to be made into a victim, refused to be blamed or shamed for what they did to her.

I wrote an article about her story - the role medical misogyny played in what happened to her and why ‘Not All Men’ rings hollow to us right now.

I expressly said that now is NOT the time to yell ‘Not All Men’ at us - because in this particular case - it was a great many men. Men from all ages, backgrounds and walks of life.

It was her own husband of fifty years. Her neighbour. Fathers and husbands. It was too many men.

The men who were approached by her husband and declined to assault Gisele? They didn’t go to the police. They didn’t get her help. They patted themselves on the back for being ‘good men’ for simply not raping an unconscious woman.

The worst part? We may never know how many of them there were.

I was scared to share this article. I was afraid of blowback from people who are unwilling and/or unable to accept just how bad rape culture is. How deep the rot of patriarchy goes.

One of the first comments I got was a man telling me to stop painting all men as rapists. That most men are ‘very fond’ of women. That he ‘likes them a lot’ and that I shouldn’t worry so much because he’s sending me a hug.

He literally commented with ‘not all men’ on an article pleading with men to stop yelling over us. And he saw absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact - he went on to say that this case is an anomaly and it’s what prisons are for - but most men are good and I need to recognize that.

Let me say this one more time - the ONLY thing about this case that’s an anomaly is the sheer scope and horror of it.

Rape is not an anomaly. It’s almost never perpetrated by a stranger. The vast majority of rapes are committed by someone the woman knew and trusted and believed to be a ‘good man.’

You don’t know until it’s too late - and that’s exactly why we’re asking you to stop saying ‘Not All Men.’

Please - listen to us. Learn. Speak up FOR us instead of OVER us. Be an ally and condemn these acts instead of trying to act like they’re the outliers. They aren’t.

This happens too damn much, we are fed up, and we won’t be silent any longer.

Shame IS changing sides and it will be because we won’t back down.

disabledginger.com/p/gisele-pe…

#giselepelicot #abuse #sexualassault #notallmen #misogyny #patriarchy #rapeculture