Disclaimer:
This article contains discussions of sexual violence and gender-based violence, which may be upsetting or difficult for some readers. Please proceed with caution as you engage with this material and seek support if needed.
The Jarring Reality of Sexual Violence
Be it in underdeveloped, developing or developed countries alike, gender based violence and violence towards vulnerable groups remains a pervasive issue. Recently, many such occurrences have been brought to light, from Hollywood’s P. Diddy case, to the murder of 7 year-old Heaven Awot in Ethiopia. This article seeks to further bring awareness to these cases, highlight the prevalence of GBV and sexual violence that persists in our society til this day, and expose how governments and their justice systems remain severely underequipped when it comes to the protection of their own people.
Mazan Rapes
The Mazan Rapes took place in Paris and Mazan, France, from 2011 to 2020, whereby a man drugged his wife and subjected her unconscious body to over 200 rapes by 80 different men, as well as himself.
Gisele, 72, was married to Dominique Pelicot for 50 years. They had three children and seven grandchildren. On 12 September 2020, Dominique Pelicot, 71, was arrested for filming upskirt photos of women in a supermarket. The investigation led to the discovery of numerous inappropriate videos on his electronic devices, revealing that for almost 10 years, he had been drugging his now ex-wife, Gisèle, and “offering” her inert body for other men to rape. Majority of the men were scouted online through a (now shut down) private chatroom where members discussed performing non-consensual sexual acts on their partners after drug administration.
Gisele found out when she was asked by the police to attend an interview alongside her ex-husband. During the interview, the officer showed her pictures of herself, dressed in unfamiliar clothes and lying inert in bed while different men raped her. Gisele told the police to stop, saying that it felt unbearable and that her “world fell apart”.
The police spent the following two years identifying and tracking down the other men who were involved in the videos. In June 2023, 51 of the 72 men, including Dominique, were charged for rape, and their trial began on 2 September. Dominique Pelicot admitted to all charges against him, though other perpetrators tried to argue consent or feign ignorance. One other perpetrator, Jean-Pierre Marechal, was accused of drugging and raping his own wife, after being influenced by Dominique.
Aside from the obvious toll on Gisele’s mental health, she also suffered physically. Over the years, Gisele noted losses in her hair and weight. She also suffered from memory loss, sometimes forgetting whole days and would appear to be in dream-like trances. Gisele and her children thought that these were signs of Alzheimers or a brain tumour, only to learn later that they were caused by the sleeping pills that Dominique was administering her. She contracted four different sexually transmitted infections from the rapes, likely due to the fact that Dominique demanded that the perpetrators not wear condoms.
Gisele made the choice to publicise the trial, to shift the “shame” onto the perpetrators, and to raise awareness for other women who could potentially be drugged without their knowledge. “I dedicate [this fight] to all the people who are victims of sexual violence. You are not alone,” Her bravery and courage has become a symbol of defiance for many French women, and has sparked nationwide protests by various feminist organisations.
Gisele arriving at court with her lawyers
As of today, 30 perpetrators involved in the Mazan Rapes have not been identified. Women from Mazan have expressed their worries, stating that they do not know if they can trust the men around them anymore. It is in the nation’s best interest for every perpetrator to be caught and for authorities to crack down on the platforms and communities that have led to and enabled cases similar to Gisele’s.
Kolkata Rape and Murder
Violence against women remains a major issue in India. In 2022, government data reported an average of 86 rapes per day, and that the number of reported cases were increasing despite the tightening of laws surrounding sexual assault. Amidst this ongoing crime wave, Kolkata was ranked the “safest city for women” in India for three consecutive years since 2021. Yet, on 9 August 2024, a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
The hospital initially informed the victim’s parents that she had committed suicide. However, the autopsy revealed that she had been sexually assaulted, raped, and then strangled to death. The autopsy also revealed that the victim had deep wounds all over her body. She was found bleeding from her mouth, eyes (from her shattered glasses), and genitals, with injuries across her genital tract, left leg, right hand, ring finger, lips, and face. There were also wounds on her neck from the strangulation.
Identified as the perpetrator is Sanjay Roy. There has been speculation that the crime scene was altered, in an attempt to pass the victim’s death off as suicide. This is likely due to Sanjay’s ties with the local police, as Sanjay was a civic volunteer, posted at a police outpost near the college and hospital.
During interrogation, Sanjay confessed to the crimes. He also admitted to molesting another woman earlier that same night before committing the rape and murder. He reveals this in a relaxed and non-remorseful manner, even telling authorities that they could “hang him if they want.” Sanjay is also claimed to be a porn addict, as large amounts of pornographic content was found on his phone, including incestuous content. He is also noted to have a history of domestic abuse, with three of his four marriages having ended in divorce due to his erratic behaviour.
This incident sparked a chain of nationwide and international protests, amplifying the debate over the safety of women in India.
Tens of thousands of women in West Bengal took to the streets at night to protest, while doctors went on a strike to demand justice for their murdered colleague, as well as to demand stricter measures ensuring the safety of female doctors working night shifts. Despite the strike lasting over a month, there has been no notable action taken by the government nor the hospital to meet the doctors’ demands. The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front stated, “Unless we receive clear action from the government on safety, patient services, and the politics of fear, we will have no choice but to continue our full strike.”
Heaven Awot
Due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, communities are left weakened and gender based violence remains an issue at large. In 2023, a 7-year-old girl, Heaven Awot, was brutally raped and murdered by her mother’s landlord in Bahir Dar.
Heaven’s mother, Abekyelesh Adeba had gone to work, leaving Heaven and her other daughter under the care of their aunt. At the time, Heaven had left to go to the washroom but did not return. Heaven’s aunt had gone on an unsuccessful search for her, only to find Heaven’s dead body in the front of her own home hours later, mutilated with strangulation marks.
The perpetrator was found to be their landlord, Getnet Baye. Abekyelesh noted that prior to this incident, she had never felt concerned regarding the safety of her daughters around him, as Getnet’s wife was a relative of hers. It is believed that Getnet snatched Heaven away while she was going to the washroom, sexually assaulted, raped, and stuffed her mouth with sand to stifle her cries before strangling her to death. He is also believed to have dumped Heaven’s body in front of her home himself after committing the crime.
Getnet was caught and sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, he was able to escape prison for a month, in which he spent threatening to hunt down and kill Abekyelesh, who had to bring her daughter and herself into hiding. A year after being placed back in prison, Getnet appealed to the court, adjourning the case until October 2024.
Heaven’s mother, greatly disturbed by this, turned to sharing her story online, which sparked support from people across the globe. A petition urging for the government to give Getnet a stricter sentence, that matched the severity of his crimes, received over 200,000 signatures.
New Nth Rooms
South Korea is known for its deeply patriarchal society, where misogyny is characterised by anti-feminism, in which 58.6% of men in their 20s “strongly opposed feminism”. With the rise of sexual assault cases, large-scale exploitation scandals such as the Burning Sun and Nth Room cases, and relatively lenient sentences for offenders, the emergence of new Nth Rooms on Telegram is deeply alarming.
According to news sources, perpetrators are using pictures of women online and splicing them onto pornographic material before distributing these materials in Telegram chat rooms. There are secret chat rooms where men upload illicit photos of their mothers, sisters, friends and other women in their lives, often taken while the women are asleep, or in some instances, drugged.
One user, known as Queenarchive1 on X (formally known as Twitter), was one of the first to expose the new Nth Rooms. They shared screenshots of a perpetrator posting a video of themselves lifting their younger sister’s skirt and touching her inappropriately while the victim was asleep. However, this account was suspended after being mass reported by perpetrators.
A “humiliation room” on Telegram with 1932 people in it. The room has various categories such as “cousin room,” “mom room,” “acquaintance room,” “older sister room,” and “younger sister room.” Let’s look into what kind of photos are in these rooms. I have censored underwear and any skin showing, but I have left the clothes and blankets shown so that you can tell if you happen to be the victim. If it seems like it is you, please prove it and I will link you up with the person who gave the tip-off.
— Queenarchive1
The Seoul Women’s Association, along with university student groups, held an emergency press briefing near Gangnam Station in Seoul, urging the government and National Assembly to take action against online sex crimes, particularly the distribution of deep fakes. We can only hope that the South Korean government exposes the truth regarding this matter and impose severe punishments on the perpetrators.
Women’s Protest in South Korea
GISB Child Welfare Homes
Another recent case close to home is allegations of child abuse by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISB). The police have arrested multiple high level executives of this organisation following probes into GISB-run child welfare homes. Following this recent investigation, the group is suspected of child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and promoting Islamic deviancy.
GISB-linked businesses in Kedah cease operations
Top executives of GISB are allegedly remnants of Al-Arqam, which is an Islamic sect banned by the federal government. In 1994, The National Fatwa Council issued a decree labelling Al-Arqam as “deviant”.
On September 11, 2024, the police conducted widespread raids on GISB-linked child welfare homes, primarily in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. A total of 588 children have been rescued by authorities as of September 22, 2024. Previously, 392 children underwent health screenings, to which preliminary investigations have found that the children were sodomised by caretakers and taught to perform similar sexual acts on other children in the same home. Caretakers allegedly physically abused the children by beating them with heated metal objects when they made mistakes. These children are not orphans, as they are the children of GISB employees.
The abuse was confirmed by GISB’s executive chairman and chief executive, Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, himself, who stated in a video: “Memang liwat tu ada satu dua,” which translates to “There have been one or two cases of sodomy only.”
As of September 2022, 355 suspects have been remanded for further investigation, primarily consisting of caretakers and religious studies teachers. As the case continues to unfold, we can only hope that the truth will come to light and that any abuse will be severely punished to protect the welfare of one of our most vulnerable populations; children.
P. Diddy: Sexual Violence
Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing serious legal troubles following a string of civil lawsuits. He is currently awaiting trial after being charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The now-disgraced music mogul was once known for hosting extravagant parties attended by Hollywood elites, where various acts of debauchery took place.
He was also known to organise “Freak Offs”, during which he allegedly plied women and male sex workers with large amounts of drugs before instructing them to perform sexual acts for his enjoyment.
The case came to light in late 2023 when Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, filed a lawsuit against him, alleging rape and a years-long abusive relationship that included physical abuse. Additionally, a 2016 video surfaced online, in which Combs can be seen repeatedly grabbing, shoving, dragging and kicking Ventura in a hotel in California.
After this, the allegations and lawsuits began flooding in:
- 23 November 2023: Anonymous plaintiff accuses Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of raping her and a friend in 1990 or 1991.
- 23 November 2023: A woman named Joie Dickerson-Neal alleges that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her, as well as filmed the act while she was a college student in 1991.
- 6 December 2023: Anonymous plaintiff accuses Combs of drugging and gang raping her in 2003 when she was 17 years old.
- 26 February 2024: Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sues Combs for alleged “unwanted sexual advances by associates of Combs at his direction”.
- 22 May 2024: Former model Crystal McKinney files a lawsuit against Combs, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2003.
- 24 May 2024: Plaintiff April Lampros accuses Combs of four incidents of sexual assault between 1995 and 2001.
- 17 September 2024: Combs and co-conspirators are accused of setting fire to an unnamed person’s car with a Molotov cocktail.
- 24 September 2024: Thalia Graves files a lawsuit against Combs and his associate Joseph Sherman, claiming that she was drugged and raped by the two men in 2001.
- 27 September 2024: A woman identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit alleges that Combs drugged and raped her on multiple occasions, further alleging that she became pregnant after one of the encounters.
When Will Enough be Enough?
Even as the rights of women, children and other vulnerable populations continue to improve in leaps and bounds, it is clear that society at large still suffers from gender-based violence and child exploitation. Whether this stems from moral deviancy, misogyny, or other social factors, it is simply unacceptable that these barbaric crimes persist to this day. It is up to the judicial system, as well as society, to hold all perpetrators and offenders accountable for their despicable actions. We look forward to the day when every member of our community can live free from the threats of rape, sexual assault, chemical submission, abuse or any other violation of their wellbeing.
Written By: Sarah Tan & Sarah Wong
Edited By: Ashley