On Gisèle Pelicot

Germany. And Vogue—I didn’t see this combination coming, but there it is: a drawing of a smiling Gisèle Pelicot. The launch of the digital cover of Vogue Deutschland coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. She did this for her children and grandchildren, to take the shame away from the victim and place it where it rightfully belongs.

The fact that she was in the courtroom every day, applauded in and out—it's powerful. I agree with those who call her a feminist icon. I can’t help but think about the men on trial, the website the guilty husband allegedly used to recruit others, and how so many must have known. How could this have gone on for so long? These online communities where sexual abuse is, beyond my comprehension, normalised.

Is it true, as one newspaper claimed, that this case will force the country to confront systemic male violence against women? Will the work that Judith Godrèche and Adèle Haenel are doing now make a real difference? We desperately need it, especially as the world seems to be sinking deeper into turmoil—wars rage on, women in Afghanistan continue to suffer, and the recent vote in the U.S. was a setback for women’s rights. I still, involuntarily, think about the image of the perpetually sulking man standing in the middle of the Macrons at the opening of Notre Dame—it didn’t inspire much hope, even if the American rapper danced happily to his tune outside after the ceremony.

Happy can’t be the word of the year, but perhaps, surprisingly, this 72-year-old woman with an elegant bob from a small town of just over 6,000 people in the south of France could come to the rescue and change the narrative around cases like this, something the German magazine is applauding. The image of her walking proudly out of the courtroom is putting a little hope back into the game for me.