Gisele Pelicot's testimony in France mass rape trial: What woman drugged by husband & raped by 50 men said

First Published Oct 23, 2024, 4:41 PM IST | Last Updated Oct 23, 2024, 4:41 PM IST

Gisele Pelicot, the 72-year-old woman at the heart of France’s mass rape trial, delivered a powerful testimony in court on Wednesday, reaffirming her determination to bring about societal change and end the culture of rape. Her harrowing account, detailing years of drugging and sexual assault orchestrated by her former husband Dominique Pelicot, has sparked national outrage and led to widespread calls for justice.

For nearly a decade, from 2011 to 2020, Gisele Pelicot was unknowingly sedated and raped by over 50 men in her own home in the quiet village of Mazan, Provence. The person behind this heinous crime was none other than her husband, Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old man who meticulously planned the assaults, inviting men to rape his wife while she lay in a drugged, unconscious state. The trial has heard that Dominique would crush sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication into Gisele's food and drinks, often serving it in her favourite ice cream or meals.

Dominique Pelicot earlier confessed to the court that he had recruited men through an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge,” where he organized for strangers to come to their home and participate in the rapes. Despite Dominique’s admission of guilt, many of the accused men have denied the charges, claiming they believed Gisele was pretending to be asleep or that her husband’s consent was sufficient.

Gisele Pelicot: A feminist hero's stance

Gisele Pelicot, who has become a feminist icon in France, took the stand in the high-profile trial and faced the accused men with resolve today. Speaking about the trauma she endured, she emphasized her unwavering determination to change society and shatter the shame that often surrounds rape victims.

Gisele also revealed how she once viewed her husband as a loving and supportive partner, especially when he accompanied her to medical appointments, seemingly concerned about her health. She described the disbelief she felt upon discovering that the neurological issues she believed she had were actually caused by his systematic drugging.

Videos of the rapes, meticulously labeled and stored by Dominique Pelicot, were later discovered by police and used as evidence in the case. These recordings led to the identification of the 50 men, aged between 26 and 74, who now face charges of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault. The accused include a range of individuals from different professions, including a nurse, a journalist, a soldier, and even a local councillor.

In quotes: What Gisele Pelicot told in court

“So many times, I said to myself how lucky am I to have you at my side. He took me to neurologist, to scanners when I was worried. He also went with me to the gynaecologist. For me, he was someone I trusted entirely. How can the perfect man have got to this? How could you have betrayed me to this point? How could you have brought these strangers into my bedroom?"

"The profile of a rapist is not someone met in a car-park late at night. A rapist can also be in the family, among our friends. When I saw one of the accused on the stand last week who came into my bedroom and house without consentment. This man, who came to rape an unconscious, 57-year-old woman – I am also a mother and grandmother. I could have been his grandmother. I am a woman who is totally destroyed, and don’t know how I can pick myself up from this."

"I wanted all woman victims of rape - not just when they have been drugged, rape exists at all levels – I want those woman to say: Mrs Pelicot did it, we can do it too. When you’re raped there is shame, and it’s not for us to have shame – it’s for them."

When asked about moments when Dominique invited her to drink specific things or dishes, Gisele said, "He made a lot of meals. I saw that as him being attentive. I know that one night he came to collect me at Avignon station after 10 days with my grandchildren. He had already prepared the meal - mashed potato. Two plates were already in the oven. I put olive oil on my potatoes and he put butter, so it was easy to see which plate was his."

"We would have a glass of white wine together. I never found anything strange about my potatoes. We finished eating. Often when it’s a football match on TV, I’d let him watch it alone. He brought my ice-cream to bed, where I was, my favourite flavour, raspberry. And I thought, ‘How lucky I am, he’s a love'. I never felt my heart flutter, I didn’t feel anything, I must have gone under very quickly. I would wake up with my pyjamas on. The mornings I must have been more tired than usual, but I walk a lot and thought it was that," she added.

"“I consulted three gynaecologists. Several times I had woken up and felt like I had lost my waters - as happens when you give birth. I know in the morning I take my breakfast in the kitchen, it’s basic, orange juice, toast, jam, honey. He could have put it in my orange juice or my coffee. But I didn’t feel that moment where I went under [as sedated]."

"I had two drawers of my underwear, I knew my underwear well. I wore white or orange colours, I had stockings in white, I had black tights. The underwear in the videos is not my underwear. What I saw on the videos, it doesn’t belong to me, he must have kept it somewhere but I didn’t know."

"I have often thought that maybe he never recovered from the fact that I had met someone in my life. I often felt responsible. I thought: was it not maybe revenge, because he had so suffered from that affair? But it was years later, we had talked about that. He had affairs as well. The first man I knew was my husband, the second was my lover. We had talked about that as well."

When asked about how Dominique found out about her extra-marital affair, Gisele said, “I was in the bathroom. He had doubts. He saw I wasn’t the same person. He said: ‘I need to know’, and I admitted it. For him, it was very hard. He couldn’t imagine for a moment I could do that.”

“Of course today I feel responsible for nothing. Today, above all, I’m a victim. We have to progress on rape culture in society. People should learn the definition of rape. For me they are rapists, they remain rapists. Rape is rape."

"It’s true that I hear lots of women, and men, who say you’re very brave. I say it’s not bravery, it’s will and determination to change society."

"I lived with him for 50 years. I wouldn’t have stayed 50 years if he had behaved like a violent brute. Like all couples, we had arguments. We got through lots of challenges, illness, work, money. He wasn’t a brute. He never hit me. This case for me is total incomprehension. I would never have imagined a man could do this."

Gisele Pelicot is expected to speak again at the later stages of the trial, which is due to run until 20 December.

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