Portrait – Geneviève Pélicot

Geneviève Pélicot — Shame Must Take Sides

Created for One Red Thread, curated by Elizabeth Dubbelde and featured at Carrefour in France in 2026, this portrait honours Geneviève Pélicot, whose extraordinary courage during the trial of her former husband and his 50+ accomplices challenged the shame and silence so often imposed upon survivors of sexual violence rather than the perpetrators.

Geneviève chose not to remain anonymous. She challenged the idea that the survivor should carry the shame while the perpetrators remained hidden behind anonymity. She chose instead to be seen, to speak publicly about the assaults and to insist that the shame belonged to the perpetrators.

It was her strength, courage and refusal to accept that she should be the one who carried shame that drew me to portray her.

Shame must take sides.