France announced Monday a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.
Equality Minister Salima Saa unveiled a raft of initiatives two days after tens of thousands of people staged new demonstrations in French cities against violence targeting women, where protesters denounced government actions as “window-dressing”.
The case of Dominique Pelicot has caused outrage in France. The 71-year-old is on trial over raping and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife for almost a decade in the village of Mazan. He is in the dock with 50 other men, many of whom have denied the accusations.
There will be “a before Mazan, and an after Mazan just like there was a before and after #MeToo”, Saa said during an interview with broadcaster …