Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, who was allegedly drugged and raped by her husband Dominique Pelicot and numerous strangers at their home in Mazan, southern France, arrived at the Avignon courthouse on Tuesday after a break in the trial involving her ex-husband and 50 co-accused.
Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who was drugged by her ex-husband to facilitate her rape and sexual abuse by him and dozens of strangers, stated on Tuesday that it is time for a 'macho' society to alter its perspective on rape. 'It's time that the macho, patriarchal society that trivializes rape changes,' Gisele Pelicot declared in her closing statement at the trial of her ex-husband and numerous other men charged with rape. 'It's time we changed the way we look at rape,' she added.
Since early September, her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot has been on trial in Avignon along with 49 other men, with one defendant still at large. Gisele Pelicot has emerged as a feminist icon by refusing to be ashamed and demanding that the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs in sexual abuse.
Gisele, 71, described the lengthy hearings as a trial of 'cowardice' by the men who participated in the rapes orchestrated by her husband. 'I've seen people take the stand who deny rape, and some who admit it,' she said. 'I want to ask these men: at what point did Mrs. Pelicot give you her consent when you entered the room? At what point do you become aware of this inert body? At what point do you not report it to the police?' None of her abusers alerted the police.
Investigators have documented around 200 instances of rape, with most perpetrated by her husband and over 90 by strangers. Gisele said her former husband 'had a lot of fantasies that I couldn't fulfill.' 'But why did it come to this? I think what he wanted was Mrs. Pelicot and not someone else,' she added. 'As I didn't want to go to a swingers' club, he thought he'd found the solution by putting me to sleep.' 'I've lost 10 years of my life that I'll never make up for,' she added. 'This scar will never heal.'
The trial is entering its final stages this week. Dominique Pelicot is also set to address the court before the civil parties deliver their closing arguments. Prosecutors will then present their closing arguments and sentencing demands for the defendants. On Monday, the couple's three children spoke in court about their heartbreak and grief, with the daughter insisting she has been 'forgotten' despite being also abused.
Gisele's daughter, who uses the pen name Caroline Darian, believes she was also assaulted by her father. The case of 71-year-old Dominique Pelicot has sparked horror, protests, and a debate about male violence in French society. Dominique Pelicot has confessed to being a rapist. If convicted, he would emerge from the historic trial with a record as one of France's worst sex offenders.
Of the co-defendants, only 14 have admitted to the charges of aggravated rape, for which most face up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted. The 35 others deny having raped Gisele Pelicot and maintain that they thought they were participating in sex games. Gisele's life was shattered in 2020 when she discovered that her partner of five decades had been secretly administering her large doses of tranquilizers to rape her and invite dozens of strangers to join him in their home in Mazan.
Gisele Pelicot has said that for years she had strange memory lapses and other health problems and thought she might have had Alzheimer's. Many hope that the trial will help victims of sexual violence to finally be listened to and believed, and lead France to incorporate the notion of consent into the definition of rape in French law. 'One for all,' French daily Liberation stated on Tuesday, featuring Gisele on its front page and calling the trial 'historic.' The verdict is expected to be delivered by December 20 at the latest.
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