In 2024, the world watched in horror as Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men were tried in a French court for drugging and raping Gisele Pelicot over nearly a decade. All were found guilty. While such horrific abuse may seem rare, it is more widespread than many realize. Private online communities with thousands of members exist globally, including in Australia, trading in videos and photos of sedated women being abused.
A Global Network of Abuse
A recent CNN investigation revealed thousands-strong groups on messaging app Telegram where men share tactics and videos of assaulting and raping their girlfriends and wives. In April, France launched an investigation into the website Pelicot used to recruit strangers to rape his wife. During the trial, police uncovered 20,000 videos and photos of her abuse, recorded by Pelicot himself.
These cases are not unique. Private pages and group chats have been uncovered in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, and Poland. A New York Times report found China-based group chats with as many as 100,000 members. A study of Telegram networks in Italy and Spain showed groups with nearly 25,000 users. The Telegram group CNN reported on had more than 1,000 members, with some videos amassing over 50,000 views.
These groups are part of the “manosphere,” an online network that perpetuates misogynistic ideas.
Why Do Men Do This?
As the CNN report notes, “while the platforms vary, inside such groups, video is king.” The more perverse and humiliating the material, the higher the engagement and reward. Telegram provides financial incentives for engagement, including points and leaderboards, and has its own internal crypto system.
Research from Australia shows that men who non-consensually share images are motivated by more than revenge. They crave validation from other men, forming homosocial bonds through shared abuse. As feminist philosopher Marilyn Frye put it, “from women they want devotion, service and sex. Heterosexual male culture is homoerotic; it is man-loving.” Men seek praise and comments on their videos, and often request descriptions of what others would do, such as “describe how you would rape this bitch.” Others commission sexualized deepfakes using AI platforms.
Misogyny is the “social glue” that holds these communities together.
What Can Be Done?
Traditional responses to gender-based violence individualize the problem, focusing on single perpetrators. This fails to address social, structural, and technological enablers. Telegram, for example, allows groups of up to 200,000 members, offers end-to-end encryption for anonymity, has weak content moderation, and features likes, comments, and disappearing messages. These features create a perfect storm for perpetrators.
Emerging legislation like the Take It Down Law in the United States (effective May 2026) and regulatory bodies such as Australia’s eSafety Commissioner aim to tackle image-based sexual abuse. The Pelicot case prompted the arrest of the website’s creators, and in 2024 Telegram’s founder was arrested in France for allowing illicit behavior on the platform, including distribution of child sexual abuse material. These arrests represent a shift toward holding tech executives responsible for providing the infrastructure that enables abuse.
