The Summer of Femicide
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There’s no doubt this summer has been consequential for women. In India, a doctor trainee was brutally raped and strangled while resting after a 36-hour shift. In the US, women’s rights were on the ballot with Kamala Harris’ unprecedented presidential campaign. In France, Gisèle Pélicot’s rape case came to worldwide attention after authorities discovered that her husband had drugged her, raped her, and invited over eighty men aged 26 to 74 to rape, sexually abuse, and record their acts for ten years between 2011 and 2020. Domestic homicide cases like that of Ugandan Olympic marathon Rebecca Cheptegei became front-page news when Cheptegei died after being set on fire by her husband. The case of former model Kristina Joksimovic also came to light, as news outlets reported her husband strangled, dismembered, and then pureed her in a blender earlier this year. In Afghanistan, a new Taliban law quite literally bans women from speaking in public.
Though these cases are incredibly tragic, they all point to a greater sense of change and momentum that I, among others, have felt this summer. Similar to a feeling I had during the pandemic, this summer, I felt that something was fundamentally changing around the world with women’s rights. This may be connected with a worldwide move towards populism, which often appeals to “traditional family values,” often tied to problematic ideas of a woman’s role in society. Despite the common and understandable perception that these tragedies are a one-off, the stories I will examine are just a few examples of the extreme violence and abuse women experience. As aforementioned, there are political consequences for these views, like the global shift towards conservatism. As another disclaimer, this article will deal with some disgusting crimes committed against women. Though their descriptions will be graphic, I, from an editorial perspective, believe it is important to discuss the details of these cases because otherwise, we are shying away from the discussion altogether.
On August 9th, 31-year-old doctor trainee Moumita Debnath finished a gruelling 36-hour shift at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, India. Without a call room at the hospital in which resident physicians can rest, Debnath sought respite in a seminar room. The next day, colleagues found her semi-naked body draped across the seminar room’s podium. Debnath was bleeding from her eyes, mouth and genitals. Later, an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be strangulation and violent rape. Allegedly, police later arrested male volunteer Sanjay Roy at the hospital, though journalists and activists believe there are more people involved in Debnath’s rape and murder. In response, tens of thousands of women across India marched in a “Reclaim the Night” march, demanding that women have the “independence to live in freedom and without fear”.
Based on reports, the case was ridden with corruption from all sides. The principal of the RG Kar Medical College, Sandip Ghosh, attempted to declare Debnath’s death a suicide, delay the investigation, and cover up evidence of the crime; police tampered with evidence and tried to bribe Debnath’s family; and the Indian Supreme Court is yet to make decisive legislative changes to prevent cases like Debnath’s in the future. Claiming defamation, RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh resigned but was hired as principal of another medical college despite his blatant attempt at a cover-up. Police corruption also played an enormous role in the case. Vinay Aggarwal, the former president of the Indian Medical Association, claims that police tampered with evidence, hurriedly took Debnath’s body for cremation, and “ransacked the crime scene at the medical college.” Allegedly, Sandip Ghosh claimed the area was off-limits for “scheduled renovation,” but many suggest police and college administration removed the evidence. The Indian Supreme Court’s attempts at legislative changes have mostly failed, with rampant corruption in task groups and poor oversight. Despite their protests, doctors worry nothing will change, especially given the topic’s taboo nature and lack of nationwide attitude shifts.
There have been political shifts, too, this summer, especially after US Vice President Kamala Harris announced her presidential campaign. Harris made women’s reproductive rights one of her campaign’s most compelling policy changes. In speeches, ads, and social media videos, Harris emphasized the impact a second Trump turn will have on women’s access to abortion, IVF treatments, and contraception. This is especially impactful because of the conservative push for Project 2025, which, among implementing authoritarian-style leadership, plans to outlaw IVF, withdraw the abortion pill mifepristone from the market, and allow states to monitor pregnancies. Largely because of Trump’s Supreme Court appointees, 1 in 3 women of reproductive age live under a state abortion man as a result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. During the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Late August, horrifying testimonies were shared by three individuals for whom limited access to reproductive care has had life-changing implications. The Harris campaign also launched a 50-stop “reproductive freedom bus tour” across battleground states. After her loss in the November presidential election, posts on social media went viral, showcasing the extreme, white-supremacist, patriarchal, and oppressive views of public figures like Nicholas Fuentes. In a live stream after the election, Fuentes exclaimed, “Hey b*tch, we control your bodies!… Your body, our choice. Your body, my choice.” Advocates and journalists alike observed that Trump’s victory had unleashed a wave of misogyny, white supremacy, and racism. The effects of that, however, are yet to be seen.
This summer, a monstrous mass rape case being tried in a sleepy, medieval, south-eastern French town stole national and worldwide attention. On September 17th, 71-year-old Dominique Pélicot admitted to repeatedly orchestrating, participating in, and recording his now ex-wife’s rape almost 200 times between 2011 and 2020; “I am a rapist.” His now ex-wife of fifty years, Gisèle Pélicot, waived her right to anonymity so that her abusers, including Dominque, could be named. This extraordinary act of bravery has “fundamentally rocked France,” inspiring thousands to protest and demand systemic change, which the French government has been slow to enact. According to the court, 72-year-old Gisèle Pélicote was drugged and raped for over 10 years by her husband, Dominque Pélicot. Mr. Pélicot “crushed sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication and mixed them into his wife’s evening meal or in her wine,” then invited men to sexually abuse her.
Police investigations into Mr. Pélicote began after a supermarket security guard caught him filming up women’s skirts in November 2020. Since then, police have discovered that Mr. Pélicot contacted men in the town through online chat rooms and approached ones who expressed interest in unconscious or unwilling sexual partners. The men were told to “avoid smelling of any kind of fragrance or cigarette smoke to avoid alerting his wife and to leave if she moved so much as an arm.” Gisèle says she recognizes only one of the fifty men on trial for her rape – a neighbour who frequently came over to cycle with her husband; “I saw him now and then in the bakery; I would say hello. I never thought he’d come and rape me.” Police also found a USB drive titled “abuses,” which had over 20,000 images and films of Gisèle being raped. The drive was organized by perpetrator as well as by type of sexual act. In the images, Gisèle was motionless and entirely unconscious, as if she was dead; “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag… my body is not cold, it’s warm, but it’s as if I’m dead.”
Eventually, the “unknown” drugging and abuse began to appear as health issues for Gisèle. She testified that she experienced loss of memory and concentration, disorientation, and weight loss, at one point being unable to control her arm. Following a police investigation, tests showed she had contracted several STDs. Being tried along with Mr. Pélicot are “a local councillor, nurses, a journalist, a former police officer, a prison guard, soldier, firefighter and civil servants.” One of Gisèle’s rapists was a 44-year-old married father of three, cementing the argument that everyday men are part of this rape culture, not just one-off monsters. As activist Morgan N. Lucas writes, “The Pelicot case has proved that male violence is not about monsters but men – everyday men.” Gisèle’s incredible bravery and courage have opened the floor for these societal discussions.
Stories of domestic abuse have taken over headlines this summer, too. In August, 33-year-old marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei had just returned from the Paris 2024 Olympics. Just weeks after her return, on September 3rd, Cheptegei, living in Kenya, was doused in gasoline and set on fire by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema. She sustained severe burns on 75% of her body and suffered multi-organ failure. Cheptegei died days later. Kristina Joksimovic, former Miss Switzerland, is another example of the theatrical abuse women often experience from their domestic partners. Recently, the story of her murder resurfaced online. In February this year, her husband dismembered her and pureed her remains in a blender, according to The Independent. Thomas Joksimovic, her husband, used a jigsaw power tool, a knife, and secateurs to dismember her after she reportedly approached him with a knife.
These stories are just a few examples of the vitriol, violence, and life-threatening abuse women face. Although to some of us, they seem like on-off instances, the idea of “everyday men” comes into play. The hashtag #notallmen, which regularly circulates social media when one of these tragic stories breaks, speaks to the idea, too. But the essence of it is that the mistreatment and abuse of women is a societal and cultural matter. The problem will not and cannot go away by putting one man in jail or by attending a single protest. Those play an important role, but societal change occurs in small fragments – at the dinner table, over coffee, in the workplace, and at school. By having a genuinely open dialogue in which both men and women can reflect on how this “rape culture” manifests, we can keep the momentum up.
As for this grand societal change I spoke of earlier, it feels like a “tipping point” moment is approaching in women’s rights. Especially because an estimated 6.4 billion of 8.2 billion people live in developing countries, many of which are beginning to confront questions of women’s rights, equality, and violence against women. However you see it, this summer was incredibly consequential for women and speaks to the importance of societal dialogue and change to allow women to have the, as protestors in India demand, “independence to live in freedom and without fear.”