Moffat Mungazi
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
DOMINIQUE Pelicot, who drugged and raped his wife, Gisèle, before recruiting dozens of other men to abuse her for almost a decade, was questioned over two other attacks dating back to the 90s.
The 72-year-old Frenchman was jailed for 20 years in December 2024.
Investigators also quizzed him about the attempted rape of another young property agent, known by the pseudonym Marion in Paris on May 11, 1999.
During his trial, Pelicot admitted to the offence after DNA evidence taken from blood found on Marion’s shoe was linked to him.
This was one of the shocking rape cases that shook the globe in recent history, and ignited debate on the mental faculties of men with the temerity to force women into bed.
As the world focused on that earth shuttering story, Zimbabwe and Manicaland in particular has been recording a steep surge in sexual assault cases.
In fact, in recent weeks, hardly a day passes without a rape case being recorded and tried in the courts of law.
Weekly, this publication has been reporting about rape cases perpetrated against minors and people living with disabilities in different communities in Manicaland.
No one can deny that being raped is one of the most distressing, horrendous and demeaning experiences anyone can endure. Needless to say, it leaves the victim with feelings of self-loathing, self-blame and rage, and can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But the world and Zimbabwe in particular, wonder what motivates rapists, like Dominique Pelicot, to commit the heinous crime?
Through deliberations with religious leaders and psychologists, it emerged that this is a complicated question with multiple answers, as several factors play roles in producing a rapist.
Pastor Munyaradzi Bope, who has counselled a number of rape survivors, said: “A sexual assaulter can be any kind of person. This statement is not meant to make everyone scared of everyone else, rather, it just means that there is not one specific type who commits such kinds of crimes.
“That is what a certain clinical psychologist learned when he anonymously interviewed 50 men back in the 70s, who had confessed to having raped someone. These men had diverse backgrounds, social statuses and, of course, different personalities and mentalities. What surprised him was how unconcerned they sounded when talking about such a criminal offence.
“Motives behind rape vary and are difficult to quantify. However, what we have seen through our counselling sessions is that rapists have some common characteristics like lack of empathy, narcissism, feelings of hostility toward women as well as toxic masculinity,” he said.
Indeed, Professor Sherry Hamby, a research professor of psychology at the University of the South in the US State of Tennessee, once wrote that “sexual assault is, not about sexual gratification or sexual interest, but more about dominating people.”
Be that as it may, sexual offending is a global problem, but is particularly prevalent in Africa.
Childhood experiences related to abuse, alcohol abuse, and criminal activities in the household and community have also been associated with increased risk for violence perpetration in adulthood.
Mr Fair Munodawafa, a psychology tutor at a local tertiary institution, said: “Five main themes emerged from different researches on this matter, and included childhood trauma and adverse events, such as an absent father, being raised without parents, exposure to criminal or violent behaviour, physical abuse, poverty and sexual abuse.
“Understanding rape is also a factor, for example, rape as sex by force and without consent, rape as a violent act, rape as sex with a minor, myths about rape. We all know that when we grew up, we were socialised that girls must not readily accept sexual intercourses, hence the male perpetrator forces himself onto a female, simply because they believe it is the norm, and yet that is a crime.
“Substance abuse, history of alcohol and drug use, and intoxication during rape perpetration, gender roles and avoiding responsibility, victim-blaming, rape as male prerogative, transactional sex, being framed or set-up, ignoring an ancestral call and recidivism, are all factors that contribute to rape.
“It was also discovered that all rape perpetrators were exposed to at least one childhood trauma type. Family and community violence and criminality was common,” he said.
Another psychology studies lecturer at a local tertiary institution, Dr Itai Mtetwa said: “Rapists often see women as sex objects, meant to fulfil men’s sexual needs. They tend to hold false beliefs, often described as rape myths.
For instance, a rapist can believe that if a woman says no, she really means yes, and that she is just playing around or challenging him.
“We have had cases of perpetrators who believed that the woman was just being hard to get. Some believed that “most women say ‘no’ at first most times. A man has to persist to determine if she really means it. In the same breath, we have had some offenders saying: ‘I felt as if I had gotten something that I was entitled to, and I felt I was repaying her for sexually arousing me’.”
After all is said and done, it is generally noted that in some cultures and traditions, African tradition included, patriarchy and dominance are expressed through a kind of dehumanisation, in which women are seen as inferior beings to men.
This makes it easier for women to become the targets of aggression.
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