Gisèle Pelicot Hopes Her Mass Rape Trial Will Help Other Survivors Feel Less Shame
On the stand, Pelicot, whose horrifying trial has shaken France, railed against the notion that rapists are just "someone in a parking lot at night."
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This week, Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman whose ex-husband is on trial for inviting over 80 men to rape her while she was unconscious between 2011 and 2020, took the stand for a second time in the months-long proceedings to deliver more searing testimony.
“I express neither my anger nor my shame,” Gisèle told the court on Wednesday. “I am expressing a desire to change society.” Since September, Gisèle’s appalling case has not only sent shock waves across the country—and the world—but made the 72-year-old mother and grandmother a hero.
Gisèle’s husband of nearly 50 years, Dominique Pelicot, was first investigated by French authorities in November 2020, after he was caught taking photos up women’s skirts at a supermarket in southeastern France. During that investigation, police discovered a folder on his computer entitled “abuses,” which contained thousands of photos and videos (many of which have since been shown in court) of Pelicot and other men—complete strangers—raping his then-wife while she was unconscious. In total, police counted 20,000 images and found that over 80 men had taken part. Not only did Gisèle have no idea, but she’d considered their marriage a happy one.
Since the proceedings began in September, Dominique and many of the 49 co-defendants have also taken the stand. The former has admitted he began secretly administering a drug that rendered Gisèle unconscious after she refused to swing with other couples.