It’s time to talk about the link between childhood abuse and rape

Can a traumatic childhood ever be used to explain, mitigate or simply understand, harmful, criminal acts? (Picture: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jerome V, 46, described himself as an ‘unwanted’ child.

He had a poor relationship with his parents and he spent little time with either: his father was authoritative and his mother often belittled him, denting his confidence.

He was bullied at school, he claimed: he was made the ‘class’s scapegoat’ and was once allegedly stripped naked by four peers. 

These experiences register as childhood trauma and it is not a stretch to feel sympathy for a young boy who grew up feeling neglected and degraded. 

Yet what happens when an abused child grows up to be an abusive adult? 

Jerome is one of the 51 defendants on trial for raping and sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot as she lay unconscious, mostly in her own home. 

Can a traumatic childhood ever be used to explain, mitigate or simply understand, harmful, criminal acts? And if not, why are such experiences being aired in a court of law in defence of rape?

The other men on trial for raping and sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot include Pelicot’s former husband of five decades, Dominique. Over the course of 10 years, he is accused of drugging his former wife and inviting a succession of men to sexually assault and rape her and filming the assaults. 

The other men on trial for raping and sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot include Pelicot’s former husband of five decades, Dominique (Picture: ZZIIGG/REUTERS)

Dominique has pleaded guilty to the charges of rape brought against him, as have a handful of his co-defendants, including Jerome. The majority have not, with some arguing that they believed Gisèle had consented via her husband. 

Defendant Philippe L, contended he was ‘thinking with my penis instead of my brain’. 

The trial has reverberated far beyond Avignon in France where it took place; when the verdicts and sentences are announced this week, the world will be watching. There has been an outpouring of support for Gisèle, who insisted that the trial be made public, as well as shock and horror, that men would willingly participate in such brutal rape of a mother, a grandmother.

Yet the trial has also been notable for another reason: the sustained focus on that trauma the defendants’ endured as children.

During the days of testimony in September, the court heard that Thierry Pa, 54, who denies raping Gisèle Pelicot, grew up with an alcoholic mother and a frequently absent father. 

Adrien L, who also denies rape, was sexually abused at the age of 10. For Fabien S, who admits raping Gisèle Pelicot, the abuse started when he was two years old and was perpetrated by his own father. Didier S, another who denies the charges, was raped aged 16 by a man.

Others, like Dominique D., recounted growing up in care; Patrick A spoke of having to hide his sexuality from his homophobic parents. Husamettin D developed a drug addiction in his early teens.

Legally, such information is admissible. 

‘In a trial, it might be relevant if a defendant were giving evidence before a jury to explain their background,’ Fiona Robertson, a criminal barrister who specialises in cases involving sexual offences, tells Metro.

Gisele Pelicot surrounded by journalists as she leaves the courtroom in France (Picture: Coust Laurent/ABACA/Shutterstock)

‘You’re trying to humanise your client to the jury and such factors could provide pretty crucial context for why they wouldn’t have acted in the way alleged,’ she says. 

In a British court of law, ‘mitigating factors’ apply specifically to determining the length of sentence, if the defendant pleads guilty. They don’t provide a defence or ‘excuse offending’ says Robertson, but ‘it may help contextualise it. 

‘Factors such as difficult childhoods, abuse and addiction are matters that may reduce a defendant’s culpability so as to warrant some reduction to the sentence ultimately imposed.’

In a public trial like Pelicot’s, the accused’s statements have inevitably flowed from the courtroom to the media and been disseminated across the internet. They have become synonymous with the case. 

The link between childhood trauma and crime

From a rigorous, psychological perspective, the link between childhood trauma and criminal behaviour, sometimes referred to as the ‘abused-abuser theory’ is inconclusive. The academic research presents a mixed picture. 

According to some research, there is a strong case for a positive correlation between childhood trauma and adult criminality. 

A number of studies have found that offenders frequently have higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) – such as abuse, neglect, substance or mental health problems within the household – compared to the non-criminal population. 

One 2022 study, published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, found that one in four confirmed rapists who participated in the research reported having at least two ACE; one in eight had experienced five and more adverse childhood events. 

The researchers concluded that one of the most damaging consequences of maltreatment during childhood is that victims have a predisposition to becoming perpetrators of crime.

There is also evidence that men who have committed crimes of a sexual nature tend to report having more ACE, more frequently, versus non-sexual offenders and men in the general population. 

Physical abuse is frequently cited as being a potential risk factor for committing sexual assault in later life.  

‘We know childhood trauma disrupts early attachment patterns, which shape unconscious drives and relational behaviours. It impacts brain development, impairing emotional regulation and decision-making,’ explains Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley, a counselling psychologist, clinical director and author.

‘A history of neglect or abuse may lead to compulsions to re-enact past dynamics, such as exerting control to counteract feelings of powerlessness,’ she adds. 

‘The majority of people who are abused don’t go on to offend,’ explains Dr Naomi Murphy, Consultant Clinical & Forensic Psychologist, Owner of Octopus Psychology.

‘But in 25 years of working in prisons, I’ve never met an incarcerated man who didn’t have a traumatic history.’

However, as Goddard-Crawley is at pains to point out, such insight ‘must not excuse or justify criminal acts’, especially those committed against women. ‘They don’t overpower the justice system’s responsibility to hold individuals accountable for their choices and protect victims,’ she says. 

The narrative of abused-child-turned-abuser is not novel, especially when it comes to men who have committed heinous crimes against women.

Serial killer and rapist Jeffrey Dahmer allegedly suffered neglect and emotional abuse from his parents. Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper, is said to have witnessed prolific domestic abuse. Serial killer Harold Shipman watched his mother die of lung cancer. 

Serial killer and rapist Jeffrey Dahmer allegedly suffered neglect and emotional abuse from his parents (Picture: Marny Malin/Sygma via Getty Images)

These same narratives are now being presented both in and out of court. Rapists and killers have become objects of fascination in movies, TV, and in a myriad of true crime podcasts.

But what happens when the focus is on the criminal, rather than the crime? What’s the impact when the perpetrator’s backstory is prioritised over the victim’s?

‘Part of the problem with criminal proceedings relating to sex crimes is that too often respect and compassion for the victim is minimal,’ says Dr Murphy. ‘They are depicted as wanton or complicit with their own victimisation.

‘Survivors can understandably feel very angry when there is shock at how perpetrators were harmed earlier in their life,’ Murphy continues, ‘when criminal proceedings often leave them feeling as if they are the person on trial.’ 

Lisa Durston, Communications Manager for SARSAS, a charity that supports victim-survivors in the south-west of England, says it’s only by centering the survivor’s experience that we can encourage more people to report sexual violence and create a system that delivers ‘true justice and healing’. 

Anyone can rape: Shockingly true, or shockingly obvious?

Much has been made of the ‘normality’ of the accused in the Pelicot trial. They have even been referred to as ‘Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde’ (Mr Everyman). 

The fact that many were professionals with settled family lives has been used to validate the point that anyone can be a rapist, even ‘nice guys’, and there is never any justification.

Elsewhere, people have expressed alarm to discover that purportedly well-adjusted men, some of whom had never committed a criminal offence before, are capable of raping an unconscious woman – and are convinced there must be some explanation.

‘Trauma can help explain certain patterns of behaviour, particularly in cases where cycles of abuse are perpetuated,’ says Dr Marianne Trent, a clinical psychologist, author and podcaster. 

‘However, we cannot risk dismissing a person’s ability to discern right from wrong and act ethically,’ she says. 

So are we at risk of childhood maltreatment becoming another factor that harms survivors?

‘The majority of people who are abused don’t go on to offend’ (Picture: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Understanding, Dr Trent says, is foundational to prevention. ‘Extending compassion toward someone’s trauma should not diminish the harm caused to victims.

‘And disclosing past trauma can inform pathways to rehabilitation, creating opportunities for systemic change that address cycles of trauma and abuse.’ 

A 2015 US report produced for the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking noted that ‘knowledge about causes can help sex offender management professionals develop more effective treatment interventions’. 

But experts Dr Murphy, Dr Trent, Dr Goddard-Crawley and Durston are all agreed that acknowledging the impact on the victim is the priority. 

Durston details the many barriers rape victims face when reporting and how essential it is that they feel supported throughout the process. 

‘Most sexual offences are committed by someone known to the survivor – 6 in 7 rapes against women are carried out by someone they know – so survivors may have conflicting feelings towards their perpetrators, who may be family members, intimate partners or friends. 

Emotions like guilt, confusion, shame, and even care for the perpetrator ‘can make the process of seeking justice incredibly challenging,’ says Durston. 

And while rape myths, such as ‘women who drink or take drugs deserve it’ if they get raped, and ‘it wasn’t rape if she didn’t fight back’, continue to flourish, we could be in danger of ‘traumatised men rape’ joining the ranks of damaging beliefs. 

Time for change

Research into causes and motives will no doubt continue but compassion is still a long way off.

Perhaps the extremity of Gisèle Pelicot’s case, and her courage in standing up and speaking out, will indeed earmark the beginning of a worldwide, societal shift in how rape, and those that commit the crime, are viewed. 

In this lens, defendants’ own traumas will ultimately fade into irrelevancy, possibly legal inadmissibility.

‘Usually in big criminal cases, everyone remembers the bad guy’s name,’ the Pelicots’ son, Florian, has been quoted as saying. 

‘This time, it’s different – it’s Gisèle Pelicot’s name that will be remembered.’

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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