‘Feminist’ campaigner slammed for telling Gisele Pelicot ‘marrying males will not be inevitable’ and ‘different choices can be found’

A feminist campaigner has been slammed for telling Gisele Pelicot ‘marrying men is not inevitable’. 

Mrs Pelicot’s case has attracted worldwide recognition after she was drugged by her husband Dominique, 72, in a decades-long campaign so that ‘hundreds’ of men could rape and abuse her while he watched and filmed them. 

The grandmother-of-seven, 71, has said she is a ‘completely destroyed woman’ as she questioned how her husband – known as the Monster of Avignon – could have betrayed her. 

Julia Long, a feminist campaigner and candidate for the gender critical Party Of Women, received backlash this week after telling Mrs Pelicot there are ‘other available options’ to ‘marrying men’.

The post on X/Twitter has racked up more than 500,000 views, as furious social media users have accused Long of ‘victim blaming’. 

Ms Long’s original post read: ‘Reminder – having relationships with, living with and marrying men is not inevitable. Other options are available, and generally better.’ 

She added: ‘In the face of the horrendous violence this woman’s husband perpetrated and organised against her over decades, I think a reminder that living with men is not inevitable is highly pertinent. 

‘He’s now her ex-husband of course, so she clearly reached the same conclusion.’

Ms Pelicot has described being raped ‘100 times’ during the trial in France after her husband let strangers into her bedroom during their 50 years together. 

Harry Potter author JK Rowling told Long: ‘Telling raped heterosexual women they should have made better life choices is usually the province of deeply unpleasant/dangerous men, but you consider it a feminist take, do you? 

Others wrote on social media: ‘Wow, bad take. I could have had the absolute worst relationship in the past with a man but I still wouldn’t choose a woman for the next relationship. It doesn’t work like that’;

‘This is not how sexuality works and sounds awfully victim blamey’;

‘Like it or not, most people are heterosexual and the human drive to share life with someone to whom you can be sexually attracted is not going to disappear, nor should it be treated as if abuse is the inevitable consequence for it’; 

‘Julia, responding to this situation, by saying that women shouldn’t have relationships with men, sounds like you are blaming Gisele for having married her husband in the first place, when she couldn’t possibly have known how things would go’;

‘Gisele Pelicot was drugged and unconscious for all the moments when she might have realised that marrying that particular man was a dangerous choice. This may be the single most tone deaf, offensive, appallingly timed tweet I have ever seen.’ 

Founded in 2023, the Party Of Women aims to end all ‘discrimination against women’. 

16 candidates stood for election for the first time in 2024, though they didn’t win any seats. 

Ms Long stood as the party’s candidate for Bexhill in May’s election but received just 0.7 per cent of the vote, with Conservative Kieran Mullan taking the seat. 

Mother-of-three Mrs Pelicot, has bravely waived her right to anonymity to unmask the alleged perpetrators. 

The trial began almost eight weeks ago and has already heard from 30 men with most denying rape claiming they thought they were taking part in a role playing game with a swinging couple, many said that as Pelicot was present ‘consent’ had been given.

The accused face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted and are aged between 26 and 74 and come from all walks of life including a journalist, soldier, local councillor, carpenter and fireman.

Mrs Pelicot said she would not look at her husband, but would address him as Dominque.

She added: ‘I am so grateful that you have given me the opportunity to speak because for almost eight weeks, I have been hurt and challenged, but I know I have nothing to be ashamed of.’

Speaking about graphic footage and images that have been shown of her during the trial, she bravely said: ‘I have been raped 100 times and it was difficult to make the decision to release those videos, but it also allowed us to acknowledge the truth.’

Mrs Pelicot added: ‘So many times I said to myself how lucky I was to have you when we went to the hospital because I was unwell (as a result him drugging her).

‘He took me to the gynaecologist; I trusted him entirely. How can the ideal man have gone to this? How could you have betrayed me? How could you have brought strangers into our bedroom.’

Describing the huge betrayal, she said: ‘Even our friends appreciated him, we shared holidays, birthdays with them, Christmas all that for me was happiness, but now after four years of preparing for this trial, I still haven’t understood why.

‘We had 50 years of happy life together, I was a happy woman, fulfilled, I had three children and seven grandchildren, he was a caring father, a good listener, a kind man who I trusted completely, this is difficult, we shared laughter and sorrow.’

Mrs Pelicot continued her emotional testimony and added: ‘Today, in this court I still don’t understand how this perfect gentleman, could have ended up like this, how my life was turned upside down.

‘How could you betray me to this extent? How could you let people come into our bedroom? This betrayal is immeasurable. I thought I would end my days with this man.’

As she spoke her husband looked down at his shoes, barely bringing himself to look at his ex-wife as she gave a brutal description of him.

When asked by the judge if she had any view on the family members of the accused who had testified earlier, she said: ‘I’ve watched these women, these mothers, these sisters, these wives, talking of how their son, brother, husband is an exceptional man.

‘I had the same at my home, but a rapist is not the man you meet in a car park late at night, he can also be one of your family, one of your friends.’

She went on: ‘I don’t understand how it got to this, I’m going to tell him, I always tried to push you towards the light but you chose the depths of the human soul, you chose it.’

Speaking of one of her attackers she said: ‘One man’s mother came, she was 54 years old, I don’t remember his name, but in effect he came to rape his grandmother.

‘I am totally destroyed by this, how am I going to rebuild myself?’

Mrs Pelicot added that she had decided to testify so she could ‘speak for all victims’.

Her testimony comes after it was revealed that a rapist who abused unconscious Gisele got his partner to drop him off and wait in the car while he engaged in the sordid sex act.

Abdelali Dallal, 47, has admitted two counts of rape committed in January and March 2018 and he is one of 50 men who are currently testifying in the case that has made headlines around the world.

Last month, Pelicot stood in the dock and admitted his guilt – and accused all his co-defendants of each having been willing conspirators.

He told the court: ‘I am a rapist – like everyone else in this room.’