France's Gisele Pelicot says 'macho' society must change attitude on rape
Gisele Pelicot, the French woman drugged by her ex-husband so she could be raped and sexually abused by him and dozens of strangers, said on Tuesday that it was time for a 'macho' society to change its attitude on rape.
Gisele Pelicot leaves the courthouse after a hearing in the trial of her former partner Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, in Avignon, on 19 November 2024. Picture: Christophe SIMON/AFP
AVIGNON - Gisele Pelicot, the French woman drugged by her ex-husband so she could be raped and sexually abused by him and dozens of strangers, said on Tuesday that it was time for a "macho" society to change its attitude on rape.
"It's time that the macho, patriarchal society that trivialises rape changes," said Gisele Pelicot in her closing statement at the trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men on rape charges.
"It's time we changed the way we look at rape," she said in the southern city of Avignon.
Since early September her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot has been in the dock along with 49 other men. Another defendant is still at large.
Gisele Pelicot has become a feminist icon by refusing to be ashamed and demanding the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
Gisele, 71, said the marathon hearings were an examination of the "cowardice" of the men who took part in the rapes organised by her husband.
Dominique Pelicot listened, with his head bowed.
"I've seen people take the stand who deny rape, and some who admit it," Gisele said.
"I want to say to 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 about the rapes that lasted between 2011 and 2020.
"I can hear this gentleman saying 'a finger is not rape'," Gisele Pelicot said, in reference to testimony.
Investigators have counted around 200 instances of rape, most of them by her husband and more than 90 by strangers.
'SCAR WILL NEVER HEAL'
Gisele said her former husband "had a lot of fantasies that I couldn't fulfil".
"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 said.
"This scar will never heal," she added, struggling to hold back her anger.
Dominique Pelicot has confessed to being a rapist. If convicted, he would emerge from the extraordinary trial with a record as one of France's worst sex offenders.
Of the co-defendants, only 14 have admitted the charges of aggravated rape, for which most of them face up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted.
The 35 others deny having raped Gisele Pelicot and maintain that they thought they were taking part in sex games.
Gisele said there was no distinction between them, adding they have "defiled" her.
"They all came to rape me," she said. "I'm going to have to live with this all my life."
Dominique Pelicot was set to speak later Tuesday.
The trial has entered its final stages, with the civil parties set to deliver their closing arguments later this week.
Next week prosecutors are scheduled to give their closing arguments and make their sentencing demands for the defendants.
'DEMON'
The court heard from the last of the defendants earlier Tuesday.
Like many others before him, Philippe L., 62, said he thought he had taken part in a fantasy of a libertine couple. He insisted he had acted "on the orders" of Dominique Pelicot, describing him as a "demon."
On Monday, the couple's two sons and daughter spoke in court of their heartbreak.
Gisele's daughter, who uses the pen name Caroline Darian, believes she was also assaulted by her father. In 2022, she wrote a book Et j'ai cesse de t'appeler papa (And I stopped calling you dad).
Gisele's life was shattered in 2020 when she discovered that her partner of five decades had for years been secretly administering her large doses of sleeping pills to rape her and invite strangers to join him in their home in the village of Mazan, a list that grew to dozens over time.
Gisele Pelicot has said that she had strange memory lapses and other health problems and thought she might have had Alzheimer's.
"One for all," French daily Liberation said on Tuesday, putting a picture of Gisele on its front page and calling the trial "historic."
The verdict is expected to be delivered by 20 December at the latest.