Gisele Pelicot's Daughter Says Pornography Responsible For Rape Cases
Speaking at the Hay Festival, the author-activist said abuse could result from "so many social problems like online porn," which is a "part of the system" of violence and misogyny.
She attended the festival to promote her book 'I'll Never Call Him Dad Again.' A male audience member asked how men could "step up" and help end abusive patterns.
Ms Darian said that "you need to talk between guys" about pornography, The Guardian reported.
Gisele Pelicot was raped by multiple men, including Darian's father, Dominique Pelicot, for nearly a decade.
She received massive support after refusing to remain anonymous during her ex-husband and other defendants' trial. Pelicot received a 20-year prison sentence last year.
Ms Darian expressed sympathy for her mother, whom she no longer talks to. She claimed in her book that they had reached a "point of no return" in their relationship after her mother did not believe Ms Darian when she said her father had raped her.
She said her mother's reluctance to stand behind her was a "means for her to protect herself."
In a conversation with actor-activist Jameela Jamil, the author said her mother was unable to acknowledge that 'I probably was drugged by my father.'
'It is a way for her to protect herself,' she continued.
She claimed it is "quite difficult" to acknowledge that your child has experienced abuse. "I believe my mother cannot recognise it because if she does, I think she's going to die," she said.
In 2024, Dominique Pelicot was found guilty of drugging his wife Gisele several times over ten years and raping her. He also arranged for dozens of other men to rape her while he watched and recorded. He was ultimately given the maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. France's worst mass rape trial ever resulted in the conviction of 51 men.
Darian Pelicot said that Dominique's actions had "a real impact on the whole family, and everyone from her family had a different position."
She had accused Dominique Pelicot of drugging her and engaging in "sexual abuse" against her in a complaint filed in March. She said she filed a lawsuit as a "message to all victims" of drugged-out sexual abuse to keep fighting.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
‘Laptop farm', stolen identities: US woman jailed for aiding North Koreans in $17 million job scam
A US woman has been sentenced to over eight years in prison for helping North Korean IT workers use false identities to get remote jobs with American companies, The Guardian reported. Christine Chapman, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering. The fraud helped generate around $17 million, which US authorities say was partly used to support North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Chapman started working with the North Korean scheme in 2020, around the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. She was first contacted through LinkedIn, where she was asked to act as a US representative for a company and help overseas workers find remote jobs. Chapman, who lived in Arizona and Minnesota, went on to help foreign workers—many based in North Korea—get jobs at hundreds of US companies. These included large firms such as Nike, a major Silicon Valley tech company, and a well-known media company, according to court documents. 'The employers believed they were hiring US citizens,' The Guardian reported, quoting the US Justice Department. 'Instead, the workers were located abroad, and Chapman was helping cover their tracks.' She created what officials called 'laptop farms' by hosting and managing computers for the workers. She also sent some of the laptops overseas, helped verify stolen identity documents, and received paycheques that she then forwarded to her co-conspirators. In October 2023, investigators raided her home and found 90 laptops. Investigators also found that the group had used the identities of 68 people, which caused tax problems for the victims. In a message cited by The Guardian, Chapman admitted she knew what she was doing was wrong. 'I can go to federal prison for falsifying federal documents,' she wrote in an online chat with her co-workers. In a letter to the court before sentencing, Chapman apologised to those affected and said she was trying to leave the group. 'I wasn't really sure how to do it,' she wrote. 'To the people who were harmed, I send my sincerest apologies. I am not someone who seeks to harm anyone.' She also said the area where she lived had limited job opportunities and that she had been caring for her mother, who was ill at the time. US District Judge Randolph Moss sentenced Chapman to over eight years in prison. She was also ordered to forfeit $284,000 and pay a $176,000 fine. Cybersecurity experts quoted by The Guardian said that such scams have become more common as remote work has grown. They warned that fraudsters are now using artificial intelligence to improve their methods and urged companies to take extra steps to verify new hires. 'Once Covid hit and everybody really went virtual, a lot of the tech jobs never went back to the office,' said Benjamin Racenberg, a senior analyst at cybersecurity firm Nisos. 'North Koreans and other employment fraudsters realised they could trick hiring systems to get jobs.' Authorities say Chapman's case is not unique. Earlier this year, the US charged several people—including two from North Korea for running a similar scheme that targeted at least 64 US companies and brought in nearly $900,000. Experts say companies should consider requiring new hires to collect work equipment in person to avoid identity fraud.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Forged signatures found on New York Mayor Eric Adams' re-election petition: Report
More than 50 signatures submitted on New York City Mayor Eric Adams' petition to run as an independent candidate in the upcoming November election appear to be fraudulent, according to a Gothamist investigation reported by The Guardian. The findings include three signatures from deceased individuals and dozens more from people who claimed their names were forged. The Gothamist also reportedly spoke to several residents who said they were misled into signing the documents. Candidates running as independents are required to submit at least 7,500 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Adams' campaign submitted nearly 50,000 signatures, well above the threshold. The questionable entries reportedly came from nine campaign workers who together submitted over 5,000 signatures. One person allegedly collected more than 700 in a single day. In some instances, the Gothamist observed strikingly similar handwriting among multiple entries from the same apartment building. Adams' campaign had earlier told the Gothamist it expected contractors to follow legal procedures and said it would conduct its own audit of the petitions. An attorney for the mayor said there is no evidence Adams instructed anyone to break the law and added that the campaign would 'determine whether any corrective action is warranted,' reported The Guardian. Veteran election law expert Jerry Goldfeder noted that while invalid signatures are not unusual, cases involving blatant fraud can lead to criminal referrals. 'Every now and again, somebody tries to cut corners, and they're generally caught,' Goldfeder said as per The Guardian. 'Sometimes those cases are referred to the district attorney or the US attorney, and there are prosecutions.' The revelation comes as Adams faces stiff competition in the November 4 election. His challengers include Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and ex-prosecutor Jim Walden. Cuomo and Walden, like Adams, are running as independents. The election takes place amid heightened public concern after a gunman shot and killed four people in a Midtown office building earlier this week. Among the victims was off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam. Adams' administration has urged New Yorkers to seek mental health support in the aftermath of the attack. Meanwhile, Mamdani has sought to distance himself from past calls to defund the NYPD, saying Wednesday, according to The Guardian: 'I'm not running to defund the police… I am running as a candidate who is not fixed in time, one that learns and one that leads.' (With inputs from The Guardian)
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Man hijacks transport cart at New York's Buffalo airport for ‘joyride', damages walkway
A man was arrested by authorities after he allegedly 'hijacked' a transport cart at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York and destroyed moving walkways at the facility, officials investigating the incident said. Kevin J. Sinning, 29, who belongs to Wyoming was arrested around 1am on July 28 by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police Department. Sinning has been charged with second-degree criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, criminal nuisance, third-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property worth more than $3,000, The Guardian reported. Purported video footage that went viral on social media showed someone slowly driving the cart up and down the airport hallways. Sinning was seen in another video entering into an unattended Prime Flight cart and driving it through the moving walkways, while damaging the glass panels and the vehicle, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said. The police officials further added that Sinning was 'visibly intoxicated' at the time of his arrest, NBC News reported. A purported TikTok video of Sinning's 'joyride' garnered more than 9 million views and more than 450,000 likes. There were no reported injuries in the incident, local reports stated. (with inputs from The Guardian, NBC News)
