Gisèle Pelicot, who was drugged by her husband with dozens of men accused of raping her, has emerged as a defiant public voice for victims of sexual abuse in France.

Sept. 19, 2024, 7:17 AM PDT
By Yuliya Talmazan

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, struck a defiant note during her testimony Wednesday as defense lawyers raised doubts about whether she was fully unconscious during the alleged rapes by dozens of men over a decade, suggesting she may have consented to the repeated assaults orchestrated by her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71.

“I have felt humiliated," an outraged Gisèle Pelicot said of the arguments alleging she was an alcoholic or being her ex-husband's co-conspirator. “In the state I was in, I absolutely could not respond. I was in a comatose state; the videos show that.”

At least 83 men were recorded on video and photos assaulting an unconscious Pelicot; 50 of them have been identified and are currently on trial accused of raping her, which many of them deny. Two defense lawyers for some of the men had asked the court to display photos which they said raised doubts whether the victim was aware of what was happening to her.

“What are these men? Are they degenerates?” Gisèle Pelicot told the court. “When they see a woman sleeping on her bed, no one thought to ask themselves a question? They don’t have brains?”

Gisèle Pelicot has been applauded by her supporters for her courage to speak out as she has been attending court hearings in the southern French town of Avignon in a trial that has gripped the nation and shed light on what some activists have called the country’s “rape culture.”

Dominique Pelicot, her former husband of 50 years with whom she has three children, has admitted to drugging and raping his wife. “I am a rapist, like the others in this room,” he told the court during his testimony Tuesday.

He also testified that all of his co-defendants knew exactly what they were doing when he had them over.

The alleged rapes occurred between 2011 and 2020. The men face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Since the trial began, Gisèle Pelicot has emerged as a voice for victims of sexual abuse in France, in part because of her decision to waive her anonymity and allow the trial to proceed in the public eye. She testified earlier this month that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse, recorded by Dominique Pelicot in a cache of more than 20,000 images and videos.

Pelicot said Wednesday that she was being made to feel like the perpetrator, not the victim, in court. “I have the impression that the culprit is me, and that behind me the 50 are victims,” she said, according to French TV channel TF1.

Many of the defendants deny raping Pelicot. Some claim they were tricked by her husband, others say they believed she was consenting and others argue that her husband’s consent was sufficient.

On Thursday, one of the men shocked the courtroom when he admitted to raping her.

Lionel Rodriguez, 44, acknowledged that he should have sought her consent and left when he saw that she was unconscious. “I never told myself: I will rape that woman,” he said, but “I’m guilty of rape.”

Addressing Gisèle Pelicot, Rodriguez said, “I am sorry, I can only imagine the nightmare you’ve lived through ... and I am part of this nightmare. I know my apologies won’t change what happened, but I wanted to tell you that.”

The trial started Sept. 2 and is expected to run until December.