What we know about the 51 men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

How could this happen?

That's one of the most pressing questions being asked by observers of a rape trial that has shocked people around the world and inspired rallies in the streets of France to support Gisèle Pelicot, whose now ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, is accused of inviting more than 50 men to secretly rape her while she was drugged unconscious.

The alleged abuses began in 2011. Dominique Pelicot told investigators that the men he invited to their home in a Provence village had to follow certain rules — they could not talk loudly, had to remove their clothes in the kitchen and could not wear perfume or smell of tobacco.

Because Dominique Pelicot, 71, videotaped the alleged rapes, police were able to track down a majority of the 72 suspects they were seeking over a period of two years. Besides Pelicot, 50 other men are standing trial. One is standing trial in absentia.

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, waived her legal right to anonymity and said she wanted the trial to be held publicly to alert the public to sexual abuse and drug-induced blackouts.

All this happened in the quaint, medieval French village of Mazan, which has a population of just over 6,000 people. According to the Telegraph, at least three men are from the village itself, and others are from the surrounding areas.

The case highlights a number of pervasive issues, like the dehumanization of women, the rape of unconscious victims and the use of technology in assaults, said Ummni Khan, an associate professor of law and legal studies at Carleton University in Ottawa.

But one of the most troublesome issues is the idea that marriage means ownership, said Khan, who researches gender, sexuality and the law.

"The fact that there were so many men willing to engage in this atrocious assault and that their ages ranged from 20s to 70s, means that there is a pervasive belief that if a husband gives his consent to access his wife's body, then you are entitled to commit rape," said Khan.

"Under this ideology, a woman's body, autonomy and agency — her very humanity — is simply an object of pleasure for the men. It's terrifying. It's a wake-up call."

Dominique Pélicot, 71, has previously confessed to the crimes to investigators. But his court hearing will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of the 51 other men accused of rape.

While all of the men accused have been identified by police, their full names haven't been released — officially. But names have swirled online. According to French broadcaster TF1, the accused are between the ages of 26 and 74. Many of them have no criminal record. Many of them have children. 

"They are firefighters, journalists, students, truck drivers, prison guards, nurses, pensioners, municipal councillors, our friends, our lovers, our fathers, our brothers. A reality that is difficult to accept," journalist Hélène Devynck wrote in an Op-Ed in french newspaper Le Monde on Sept. 6.