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France's survivor of multiple assaults, Gisèle Pelicot, is returning to court at the start of the week to come face-to-face with one of her attackers, the only man who is contesting the prior year's court decision in which a total of 51 accused were sentenced for attacking her as she rested, sedated, by her husband in their domicile.

Back then, the survivor's defiant public stance was seen as a possible turning point in the struggle with abuse. However across the nation, that optimism appears to be wilting.

"I am going to harm you should you remain here," snarled a man positioned near a ancient place of worship in Mazan, the scenic area where the couple previously resided.

He caught my conversation inquiring with a senior resident about the influence of the Pelicot case on France and, while threatening to destroy our camera too, was now clarifying that the town was tired of being connected to one of the globally infamous rape trials.

Several days prior, the town's leader had released a gentler version of the identical viewpoint, in a public statement that described Gisèle Pelicot's years-long ordeal as "an individual issue… that has no relevance to our town."

It is easy to comprehend Mayor Louis Bonnet's intention to defend the locality's standing and its visitor sector. But it seems worth noting that a prior year, he'd made headlines throughout the country after he'd stated to me on two occasions, in an discussion, that he wanted to "play down" the seriousness of the survivor's experiences because "no lives were lost", and no children were involved.

It is also worth noting that nearly every one of the ladies we were able to interview in the town last week disagreed with the official's wish to see the Pelicot case as, mostly, something to "move beyond."

Having a smoke in a shaded doorway near the church, a 33-year-old civil servant, who gave her name as the resident, spoke with undisguised bitterness.

"It is not a topic of conversation, even here in Mazan. It's as if it never happened. I am aware of an individual suffering from domestic violence right now. However females conceal it. They're afraid of the men who engage in such behavior," she stated, noting that she was "certain" that additional the assailants were still at large, and at large, in the community.

Strolling in the vicinity near a few cats enjoying the warmth, a different individual, in her late sixties, was just as eager to converse, but took a different view of the proceedings.

"Globally things are changing. The country is advancing." With Madame Pelicot's help? "Yes. It's been a boost, for women to speak freely," she informed me, assertively.

Across France, there is little question that the publicity spawned by the survivor's internationally transmitted determination that "shame should change sides" - from survivor to perpetrator – has supplemented the drive to a movement opposing sexual violence earlier activated by the social initiative.

"I would say altering conduct is something that requires decades. [But] the Pelicot case sparked a significant, landmark initiative… targeting abuse, and fighting exemption from punishment," stated Alyssa Ahrabare, who oversees a coalition of 50 feminist organisations in the nation. "Our attention is on training professionals, assisting survivors, on examinations."

"Certainly, the nation has transformed. The [number of] complaints of rapes has grown significantly, demonstrating that survivors – females of all ages – they come forward and they desire accountability," concurred a spokesperson, spokesperson for the organization "Osez le féminisme".

And yet, the vigor and hope that surrounded the survivor the previous winter, as she exited the courtroom and into a scrum of supporters, have failed to result in many substantive changes to the way the French state addresses the issue of abuse.

Indeed, there is a general agreement among advocates and professionals that the situation is, in contrast, worsening.

"Sadly, officials take no action," commented the spokesperson, citing statistics indicating that conviction rates are flat-lining in spite of a sharp rise in instances of abuse.

"The picture is bleak. There is opposition. Notions supporting assault are returning with force. This is evident in the masculinist movement becoming more prevalent, notably within youth," added the activist,