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full screenGisèle Pélicot at the court in Avignon on Wednesday. Photo: Lewis Joly/AP/TT
Gisèle Pélicot was drugged and raped over a ten-year period. Her story has sent shock waves across France and now she has appeared in court again.
– It is not us who should be ashamed, it is the perpetrators, she says.
Gisèle Pélicot was greeted by applause from the audience when she arrived at the court in Avignon on Wednesday, which she has visited on most trial days.
She testified in September about the crimes committed against her, but recanted after the judge in the case asked her to share her impression of the trial so far.
– I am a woman who is completely broken, she said according to AFP, adding that her goal is to change society’s view of sexual abuse and for victims to be able to come forward without guilt.
– I want all women who have fallen victim to rape to be able to say that “Ms Pélicot could, so then I can do it too”. It is not us who should be ashamed, it is the perpetrators.
Feminist icon
Gisèle Pélicot became a feminist icon after she called for a trial open to the public. She has also agreed to her name and picture being published.
Her ex-husband, Dominique Pélicot, is accused of drugging his wife for decades and letting men prey on her.
In the evidence submitted, there are thousands of pictures and videos showing how over 70 different men raped her – abuse that took place over a ten-year period. The defendants are between the ages of 25 and 75 – among them a former police officer, a municipal politician and a journalist.
Trying to understand
Dominique Pélicot has admitted in court that he is a rapist and asked for forgiveness. On Wednesday, he sat in the hall and listened to his former wife, without turning his eyes towards her.
– I try to understand how my husband, who was the perfect man, could become like this, said Gisèle Pélicot.
– For me, it is a betrayal of unimaginable magnitude. After 50 years together. I used to think that I would live with this man for life.
She also said, according to Le Monde, that she herself has a long way to go to recover.
– I don’t know how to proceed. I am almost 72 years old and don’t know if I will live long enough to recover from this.
FACTS The rape case that shakes France
The trial against 71-year-old Dominique Pélicot and 50 other men in Avignon, France, began on September 2 and is expected to last nearly four months.
The men are all accused of assaulting Gisèle Pélicot, 72. Several of the accused risk 20 years in prison for aggravated rape.
Before the abuse, Dominique Pélicot drugged his wife to the point where she was largely unconscious, according to the prosecution. She therefore did not know what was going on before it was all discovered in 2020.
The evidence consists of tens of thousands of images and videos showing how at least 70 different men raped Pélicot – abuse that went on over a ten-year period. The defendants are between 25 and 75 years old, among them a former police officer, a municipal politician and a journalist. Many have families and children, according to French media.
The trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pélicot, who has also agreed to her name and image being published.
The evidence also includes intimate photos of the Pélicot couple’s daughter and two daughters-in-law, taken without the women’s knowledge.
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