Latest news with #massrape
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Caroline Darian says mother Gisèle Pelicot would ‘die' if she acknowledged her daughter was also a potential victim
Caroline Darian, the daughter of serial rape victim Gisèle Pelicot, says she thinks her mother would 'die' if she acknowledged that her daughter was also a potential victim of Dominique Pelicot. Speaking at Hay Festival, the activist and author claimed that the denial of her mother, whom she no longer talks to, was an act of self-protection. 'She is not able to recognise that I probably was drugged by my father. It is a way for her to protect herself,' Darian said while in conversation with actor and presenter Jameela Jamil. 'Incest in France is taboo. And there are a lot of victims where it's always the same situation. To recognise that your daughter, your son, is a victim – it's quite difficult. 'I think my mum is not able to recognise it because, otherwise, I think she's going to die.' Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in 2024 after being found guilty of drugging his wife Gisèle multiple times over the course of a decade and both raping her and arranging for dozens of other men to rape her while he watched and filmed. A total of 51 men were convicted following France's worst ever mass rape trial, which sent shockwaves around the world. Gisèle waived her right to anonymity, telling media outlets after the verdicts: 'I wanted... to ensure that society could see what was happening. I never have regretted this decision. I now have faith in our capacity to collectively take hold of a future in which everybody... can live together in harmony, respect, and mutual understanding.' Darian claims to have also been a victim of chemical submission at the hands of her father, after being shown two pictures of her unconscious and 'almost naked', wearing underwear that was not her own. 'At the very beginning of the revelations, it was November (2020), I discovered some pictures of me, taken from my beloved father, where I'm totally sedated… He sedated me, like my mum. The main difference between my mum and me: my mum has all the evidence, all the proof of having been raped. But not me. I only have those pictures, almost naked, lying on the bed, with pants which are not mine.' She added: 'But I don't know what's happened before or after.' Darian claims the pictures of her had been shared online by her father, and she believes that she too was likely a victim of sexual abuse, something Dominique has always denied. According to Darian, she feels like an 'invisible victim' after the French legal system failed to recognise that she had been sedated by her father. She and Gisèle 'are not talking anymore', Darian revealed in the interview, stating: 'It's difficult to talk about my mum.' She added that her mother is 'going well, she's well-supported, she's writing'. She needs to tell her own story,' Darian said, concluding by urging others to share their experiences of abuse. 'I'd like to help all victims, invisible victims, to have the courage to talk, and to share their stories,' she said. 'Because every story, each of us, that's how we'll change the world. It's not only one person. It's all of us together.' Darian has authored the book I'll Never Call Him Dad Again about her experiences and founded the campaign 'Don't Put Me Under: Stop Chemical Submission'.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Resist forgetting,' say Chinese-Indonesians still seeking justice for mass rapes in 1998 riots
Calls are growing for the Indonesian government to formally acknowledge the mass rapes of the country's ethnic Chinese women during the May 1998 riots, as members of the minority community commemorate the tragedy with a vow to 'resist forgetting' even as justice remains elusive. Advertisement The unrest that swept Indonesia 27 years ago was triggered by soaring food prices, economic collapse and mounting public anger at then president Suharto's authoritarian rule. He stepped down on May 21, 1998, after weeks of student-led protests – but in the days before his resignation, Jakarta and other cities were engulfed by deadly riots targeting Chinese-Indonesians. Mobs looted and burned Chinese-owned shops and homes, and numerous cases of sexual violence were reported. According to the Volunteer Team for Humanity, 130 rapes of Chinese-Indonesian women in Jakarta were documented between May 13 and 15 alone. The group reported the figure in July 1998 – but no perpetrators have ever been brought to justice. The events remain a deep scar for Chinese-Indonesians. Eyewitness accounts gathered by the government's Joint Fact-Finding Team at the time suggested the anti-Chinese violence was orchestrated by provocateurs linked to the military. One of the most chilling episodes came months later. Ita Martadinata Haryono, a Chinese-Indonesian member of the Volunteer Team for Humanity, was found murdered in her bedroom in October 1998. Her killing occurred just days before she was due to testify before the US Congress about the sexual assaults and killings. The group claimed her death was an attempt to silence activists. Advertisement Today, the lack of justice still weighs heavily on survivors and their communities.
