As the survivor faces one of her assailants during legal proceedings, what has changed in France?

France's mass rape victim, Gisèle Pelicot, is heading back to the courtroom at the start of the week to come face-to-face with an individual convicted of assaulting her, the lone defendant who is contesting last year's trial verdict in which a group of 51 individuals were convicted of raping her as she rested, sedated, due to her spouse in their residence.

During that period, Madame Pelicot's outspoken position was regarded as a potentially catalytic moment in the fight against assault. However across the nation, that hope appears to be wilting.

"I will attack you should you remain here," threatened a person located by a historic church in Mazan, the scenic area where Gisele and Dominique Pelicot once lived.

He caught my conversation inquiring with a senior resident about the effect of the court trial on the nation and, while vowing to damage our equipment too, was now clarifying that the town was tired of being associated with one of the globally infamous legal proceedings for assault.

Several days prior, the town's leader had put forth a more diplomatic statement of the similar perspective, in a communique that portrayed Gisèle Pelicot's prolonged suffering as "a personal situation… that has no connection to our community."

It is easy to comprehend the official's desire to defend the locality's standing and its travel business. However it is important to recognize that a prior year, he'd received coverage throughout the country after he'd told me, twice, in an interview, that he wanted to "play down" the seriousness of Gisèle Pelicot's ordeals because "no-one was killed", and youth were not affected.

It is also worth noting that the vast majority of the ladies we were able to interview in the community last week held a different view from the leader's intention to see the Pelicot case as, primarily, something to "move beyond."

Having a smoke in a shadowed entrance close to the church, a 33-year-old civil servant, who provided the name the resident, spoke with clear frustration.

"People no longer discuss it, within this community. It's as if it never happened. I am aware of an individual experiencing family abuse right now. However females conceal it. They're afraid of the individuals who commit these acts," she expressed, mentioning that she was "certain" that further Gisèle Pelicot's rapists remained undetected, and unapprehended, in the neighbourhood.

Moving through the area by some felines soaking up the sun, a different individual, 68, was similarly willing to discuss, but took a different view of the proceedings.

"Globally things are changing. The nation is developing." With Madame Pelicot's help? "Certainly. It has provided encouragement, for women to express themselves openly," she informed me, with conviction.

Nationwide, there is certainty that the publicity generated by the survivor's internationally transmitted resolve that "shame should change sides" - from victim to rapist – has given extra impetus to a campaign against sexual violence already energised by the activist campaign.

"From my perspective altering conduct is something that takes generations. [But] the Pelicot case sparked a massive, unprecedented movement… targeting abuse, and combating lack of accountability," remarked an activist, who manages a network of numerous advocacy bodies in France. "We concentrate on training professionals, aiding those affected, on inquiries."

"Certainly, the nation has transformed. The reports of assaults has grown significantly, indicating that victims – women and girls – they voice their experiences and they desire accountability," affirmed Céline Piques, spokesperson for the NGO "Dare to be feminist".

However, the vigor and hope that engulfed the survivor at the end of the year, as she exited the courtroom and into a crowd of advocates, have not led to many substantive changes to the manner the national government addresses the challenge of abuse.

Actually, there is a general agreement among campaigners and experts that conditions are, rather, declining.

"Regrettably, authorities are unresponsive," said the spokesperson, citing figures showing that numbers of guilty verdicts are flat-lining in spite of a sharp rise in instances of abuse.

"The situation is dire. There is a backlash. Rape culture ideas are returning with force. This is apparent through the men's rights activism becoming more prevalent, particularly among young boys and teenagers," noted Alyssa Ahrabare,