Latest news with #GisèlePelicot
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Artist honours rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot at National Mosaic Art Exhibition
Dianne Sonnenberg stands in front of her mosaic titled "Turtle Island" in Toronto, on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fatima Raza TORONTO — One artist's work at a mosaic exhibition in Toronto is honouring a French sexual abuse survivor who galvanized a global movement to better protect women. Valerie Brownell remembers closely following Gisèle Pelicot during the trial in her case. Titled Gisèle and the Unity of Women, Brownell's piece is on display at the National Mosaic Art Exhibition in the city's west end. Pelicot, 72, was drugged and raped by her husband, who was found guilty of inviting dozens of strangers to also abuse her over nearly a decade. Today, she is lauded globally for her courage in testifying against her abusers, and paving the way for consent to be included in France's legal definition of rape. 'Many women showed their support for her by coming to the trial, to the courthouse every day and chanting 'shame is changing sides,'' Brownell said. For several months after the trial, Brownell, who is also the president of Mosaic Artists of Canada, thought about the design of the mosaic and the materials she would use to bring her feelings to life. Seeing that turnout and the related marches and rallies inspired Brownell. 'Mosaics is not a fast art form by any means. Every piece is cut by hand, so every piece of marble, every piece of glass, it's all cut by hands,' Brownell said. In her piece, Brownell represents the abusers as a long line of nails. These nails curve and run through the blue smalti, also known as mosaic glass, which represents Pelicot's world. On either side of the line of nails, Brownell said she used grey marble to represent the dark shadow the men have left on the world. 'Part of the mosaic is fragmented and that's how I wanted to show that her world was fragmented by this event,' Brownell said. Yet, at her core, Pelicot retained her femininity, Brownell said, which is represented by the gold smalti. That and the warm tones of the marble around Pelicot's world represent the women in her corner, she said. 'The theme for the show is unity and I felt these women coming together to support her shows female unity and that it could be a powerful force,' Brownell said. Brownell began working in mosaics over 25 years ago, leaving her job as a lab technologist to focus on her craft. Today, she is an internationally acclaimed artist. Other pieces in the exhibition, which runs until Sept. 12 and features works from 34 professional and emerging Canadian artists, include micro-mosaics, 3D sculptures and textured wall pieces. 'When I heard that the theme was unity, I thought that that would be a perfect way to express unity through the land, which is something that's very important to me as an Indigenous person,' said Dianne Sonnenberg, whose work is also featured in the exhibition. Sonnenberg is Ojibwe from Chippewas of Rama First Nation In her mosaic titled Turtle Island, Sonnenberg used stone, slate and semi-precious gems to represent the turtle shell. On top of the turtle's shell, she put ribbons of textile patterns, symbolizing different cultures in the country. She said her work was inspired by the realization that people, despite their own unique qualities and identities, are alike at their core. 'In many ways, we're so much the same. A lot of the patterns that are developed here in North America or in the Middle East or in Asia, they're very similar to each other, and that's what I wanted to express,' she said. An awards and reception ceremony will be held on Sept. 11 where a jury will deliver recognitions like Best in Show, Innovation Award, Emerging Artist Award and Juror's Choice Award. The public can also make their votes in person at the gallery or online for a People's Choice Award. The prize is $150 for Best in Show and $50 for every other award. Most of the exhibited work, including Brownell's pieces, can be purchased at the gallery. Other small original mosaics, donated by artists from across Canada and beyond, are also available to purchase in support of Mosaic Artists of Canada. 'Experience the mosaics, get up close,' Brownell said, encouraging everyone who can to come support the show and learn more about the art form. The exhibition is being held at Neilson Park Creative Centre at 56 Neilson Drive. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2025. Fatima Raza, The Canadian Press
New York Times
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Pelicot Trial Returns, This Time to the Stage
The buzz of this year's Avignon Festival was a play set inside a medieval convent, not far from the courthouse where six months ago Gisèle Pelicot confronted her ex-husband and dozens of men accused of raping her while she was deeply drugged. The play had a simple name: 'The Pelicot Trial.' By the French playwright Servane Dècle and the Swiss director Milo Rau, it promised to distill into four hours the four-month trial that rocked France. All 51 defendants in the case were found guilty, most on charges of rape. The case jolted the country into difficult questions around the pervasiveness of rape, the widespread use of pharmaceuticals to drug women and commit abuse, and the uncomfortably familiar face of rapists who are also fathers, uncles, brothers, neighbors. The playwright, Ms. Dècle, told French radio that the work was taking up the demand by Ms. Pelicot, who had waived her right to a closed-door trial and insisted that the videos of the hundreds of rapes she suffered, all of which were filmed and cataloged by her husband, be played publicly in court, to 'look rape straight in the eyes.' As on most days of the trial, a line had formed outside the building where the stage was set, led by women looking for last-minute tickets to the show, which played one night at the festival but is being staged elsewhere. Some said they had come to witness how the director would meld the case into art, and to process their own personal stories of sexual violence. Two women near the front were in tears. 'I think men felt protected before. They let things slide,' said one woman in line, Nathalie Le Meur, a 54-year-old art therapist. 'Because of this trial, they realize they could potentially end up in court.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Express Tribune
14-07-2025
- Express Tribune
Gisèle Pelicot receives France's highest civilian honor for bravery
Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old French woman known for her courageous courtroom testimony, has been awarded France's highest civilian honor, the Legion of Honour. She was named to the Bastille Day honors list, announced ahead of the national holiday, joining 589 other recipients. Pelicot earned international recognition last year after waiving her legal right to anonymity and publicly testifying against her husband, Dominique Pelicot, in a mass-rape case. In court, Dominique admitted to drugging his wife and arranging for around 50 men to rape her while she was unconscious over the span of nearly a decade. The trial concluded in December 2024 with Dominique Pelicot receiving the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for aggravated rape. Throughout the trial, Gisèle Pelicot attended nearly every session, becoming a symbol of resilience and bravery. Speaking to reporters during the proceedings, she said, 'I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too.' She added that she hoped to 'make shame swap sides,' shifting the stigma from victim to perpetrator. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly praised Pelicot, calling her a trailblazer whose 'dignity and courage moved and inspired France and the world.' According to her lawyer, a memoir telling Pelicot's story in her own words is currently in development and is expected to be published early next year. The award underscores not only Pelicot's personal bravery but also her lasting impact on the national conversation around sexual violence and victims' rights in France.
West Australian
14-07-2025
- West Australian
Gisèle Pelicot receives France's highest honour
Gisèle Pelicot, who became a symbol for women's rights in France during the rape trial against her ex-husband and dozens of accomplices, has received France's highest civic honour. Pelicot was named knight of the Legion of Honour on a list published in the official gazette on Sunday. Pelicot's ex-husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the end of last year for aggravated rape, in a landmark case that horrified France and the world and reignited the debate on criminal legislation on sexual violence. Dominique Pelicot repeatedly drugged his then-wife, abused her and offered her to dozens of strangers to rape over a period of almost 10 years. A court in the southern French city of Avignon also sentenced 50 co-defendants in December to prison terms ranging from three to 15 years. Gisèle Pelicot had insisted that the trial be held in public to ensure that rape and the abuse of women became the focus of public debate far beyond France.
Perth Now
14-07-2025
- Perth Now
Gisèle Pelicot receives France's highest honour
Gisèle Pelicot, who became a symbol for women's rights in France during the rape trial against her ex-husband and dozens of accomplices, has received France's highest civic honour. Pelicot was named knight of the Legion of Honour on a list published in the official gazette on Sunday. Pelicot's ex-husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the end of last year for aggravated rape, in a landmark case that horrified France and the world and reignited the debate on criminal legislation on sexual violence. Dominique Pelicot repeatedly drugged his then-wife, abused her and offered her to dozens of strangers to rape over a period of almost 10 years. A court in the southern French city of Avignon also sentenced 50 co-defendants in December to prison terms ranging from three to 15 years. Gisèle Pelicot had insisted that the trial be held in public to ensure that rape and the abuse of women became the focus of public debate far beyond France.
