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The nation's mass rape victim, Gisèle Pelicot, is returning to court at the start of the week to come face-to-face with one of her attackers, the lone defendant who is contesting the prior year's court decision in which a group of 51 individuals were convicted of attacking her as she was, under the influence, by her husband in their residence.

At the time, the survivor's public resistance was regarded as a potentially catalytic moment in the fight against assault. However across the nation, that hope seems to be fading.

"I will attack you should you remain here," snarled a individual positioned near a medieval church in the town, the picturesque town where Gisele and Dominique Pelicot once lived.

He happened to hear me questioning an older lady about the impact of the legal proceedings on the nation and, while threatening to destroy our recording device too, was now clarifying that the locality was tired of being associated with one of the globally infamous rape trials.

A few days earlier, the local official had put forth a softer interpretation of the identical viewpoint, in a official announcement that portrayed Gisèle Pelicot's prolonged suffering as "a personal situation… that has no connection to our community."

It is easy to comprehend Mayor Louis Bonnet's wish to safeguard the community's image and its visitor sector. Yet it should be pointed out that a previous period, he'd received coverage nationwide after he'd stated to me on two occasions, in an discussion, that he aimed to "downplay" the seriousness of the survivor's experiences because "there were no fatalities", and no children were involved.

It is also worth noting that the vast majority of the women we did speak to in the town in the past few days did not share the mayor's desire to regard the proceedings as, mostly, something to "move beyond."

Having a smoke in a shadowed entrance near the church, a 33-year-old civil servant, who identified herself as Aurélie, spoke with open resentment.

"No-one talks about it anymore, including in this town. It's as if it never happened. I am acquainted with a person suffering from family abuse right now. However females conceal it. They fear the persons who do these things," she expressed, mentioning that she was "convinced" that further the attackers remained undetected, and free, in the community.

Walking nearby past a couple of cats enjoying the warmth, a different individual, 68, 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? "Absolutely. It has given impetus, for women to express themselves openly," she informed me, assertively.

Across France, there is certainty that the attention produced by the survivor's worldwide shared resolve that "embarrassment must transfer" - from victim to rapist – has given extra impetus to a effort targeting sexual violence earlier activated by the social initiative.

"In my opinion changing behavior is something that needs a long time. [But] the Pelicot case ignited a huge, historic mobilisation… against sexual violence, and fighting exemption from punishment," remarked an activist, who co-ordinates a coalition of numerous advocacy bodies in the country. "We concentrate on instructing experts, supporting victims, on examinations."

"Absolutely, the country has evolved. The [number of] complaints of rapes has tripled, demonstrating that those affected – ladies and young women – they voice their experiences and they want justice," concurred Céline Piques, representative of the NGO "Dare to be feminist".

However, the drive and positivity that surrounded the survivor last December, as she emerged from the judicial building and into a crowd of advocates, have not brought about many substantive changes to the way the national government tackles the issue of assault.

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

"Sadly, officials take no action," said the advocate, citing figures indicating that numbers of guilty verdicts are stagnating in spite of a significant increase in cases of assault.

"The outlook is grim. There is a backlash. Beliefs enabling abuse are coming back very strongly. This is evident in the men's rights activism gaining traction, especially with youth," noted the activist,