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France gets new helpline amid trauma of mass rape trial

France gets new helpline amid trauma of mass rape trial

This was amid testimony at the rape trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other defendants, which shocked the country, sparked mass protests and raised awareness in France about the use of drugs to commit abuse.

This was amid testimony at the rape trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other defendants, which shocked the country, sparked mass protests and raised awareness in France about the use of drugs to commit abuse. | Photo credit: AFP

Some callers are women who fear they have been drugged and sexually assaulted; others are doctors worried they’ve misdiagnosed them — a helpline set up amid France’s notorious mass-rape trial has captured a nation’s angst.

The helpline, known as the Reference Center for Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (or CRAFS, its French acronym), was launched by a health center in Paris on October 15.

That was amid testimony at the rape trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other defendants, which shocked the country, sparked mass protests and raised awareness in France about the use of drugs to commit abuse.

For years, Gisele Pelicot, now Dominique’s ex-wife, had strange memory lapses and other health problems, seeing numerous doctors who could not pinpoint the cause.

Police then told her she had been drugged and raped for nearly a decade by her husband and dozens of strangers she recruited online.

Since its launch, the helpline has received a flood of calls from health care providers and victims seeking information about drug abuse, said Leila Chaouachi, a physician who founded the service.

“The doctors who contact us say they might not have noticed anything either,” Chaouachi said, referring to Gisele Pelicot’s symptoms.

“What are the warning signs? They feel like they don’t have enough training,” she added.

– Symptoms and guidelines

One of the services provided by CRAFS is to provide information about possible symptoms related to drug abuse.

There are many indicators that someone may have been drugged, Chaouachi said: drowsiness, nausea, disorientation, blurred vision and amnesia, among others.

But some health professionals tell Chaouachi they worry they might miss the signs or, if they recognize them, aren’t sure what to do next.

CRAFS can also provide guidance on these possible next steps.

A doctor who contacted the center was concerned that a female patient — a victim of domestic violence — had also been drugged by her partner and wanted to know if a hair analysis should be ordered to detect the presence of the substances.

“Five centimeters of hair is like five months of history,” explained one of the CRAFS team of pharmacologists, who are also trained in sexual assault response.

Victims who call the hotline are encouraged to file a complaint to receive free drug testing kits.

In mid-November, Equality Minister Salima Saa announced an awareness campaign about the “new scourge” of drug use to commit sexual abuse, which Chaouachi said can sometimes be misunderstood.

“Speaking”

There are “preconceived notions” surrounding the use of drugs in cases of sexual assault, Chaouachi told AFP.

“People think it’s young girls drugged up in a nightclub with GHB,” Chaouachi said, referring to a notorious “date-rape drug” often used in sexual assaults.

“However, our data shows that the victim is often drugged by someone around them who betrays their trust,” she said.

“It could be a woman of any age … an elderly person drugged to get them to sign a paper extorting an inheritance or a child drugged so someone won’t take care of them. This is chemical abuse.”

In 2023, the French police recorded more than 110,000 victims of sexual violence, of which 85% were women.

For some, the hotline provides an opportunity to talk about what happened to them, even if the abuse was too long ago for medical screening.

“Even though they are old, these accounts are useful: they tell us how attackers operate,” Chaouachi said. “And speaking up and being heard is good for the victim.”

Prosecutors sought a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for Dominique Pelicot and 10 to 18 years in prison for 49 of the 50 co-defendants charged with rape or attempted rape, with a four-year sentence requested in only one case.

A verdict is expected on December 19 or 20.