"I want you to know that we share the same fight," French rape victim Gisèle Pelicot said in a message to other sexual assault victims as she left the courtroom where she finally had justice for years of brutal rapes initiated by her husband and at least 50 others. The recent case is justifiably sending shockwaves through France and around the world. It is being called "rape by 'ordinary' men and is redefining what a "rapist" looks like. Are you familiar with this case?

Dominique Pelicot would drug his wife with enough anti-anxiety medication to knock her out, then bring another man into their home while he videoed the man raping her. Not just once but an estimated 200 times over nine years, involving at least 50 other men. Gisèle had no idea what had been happening to her until she was approached by police. The only indication she had before that was unexplainable symptoms she had been experiencing: memory loss, blackouts, extreme fatigue, an inflamed cervix, pain in her abdomen. In September 2020, Dominique Pelicot was arrested for trying to film under women's skirts at a grocery store. Police seized his electronic devices and found thousands of videos and photos showing his wife being sexually assaulted by different men on several separate occasions. Prosecutors charged as many suspects as they could find from the videos. Forty-eight men were charged with rape, one with attempted rape and one with sexual assault. Some men were accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on one occasion, while others were accused of up to six instances. About 20 of the men who appeared in his videos have yet to be identified. Do the details of this case sicken you as much as they do me?

Dominique Pelicot testified that he developed a routine of secretly sedating Gisèle just enough to keep her unconscious for seven hours. Then he recruited strangers through an online chatroom, which was shut down in June by a court order. He invited them to their home and other places he and Gisèle were staying. He instructed the men not to wake her by warming their hands on a radiator and telling them not to smell of aftershave or smoke. These men have been dubbed "Monsieur Tout-le-monde" — Mr. Everyman — because of how ordinary they are. They are short, tall, flabby, lean, clean-shaven, bearded, bald and pony-tailed. All but 14 were employed in jobs that reflect the spectrum of middle- and working-class in rural France: truck drivers, carpenters and trade workers, a prison guard, a nurse, an IT expert, a journalist. They range in age from 27 to 74. Just over two-thirds have children. This case shows us that these men are not depraved criminals but actually regular guys who have wives and kids and jobs - a baker, a firefighter. They're our brothers, our fathers. And that's shocking. It would be easier to say these violent men have nothing to do with us. Does it shock you that these ordinary men would so willingly take place in a rape?

But the real hero of this story is Gisèle Pelicot, the 72 year old victim who refused to go to trial anonymously and instead became the face of rape victims everywhere. For decades women, particularly where the victim often gets dragged through the mud (the only crime where the victim often appears to be on trial) have not come forward for these exact reasons. "It's not for us to feel shame — it's for them," Gisèle declared during the trial, referring to the attackers. "Above all, I'm expressing my will and determination to change this society." Do you admire the courage of this woman?

Have you ever been the victim of a rape, whether it be an act of random violence or marital/acquaintance rape?