Gisèle Pelicot’s Triumph: Ex-Husband Sentenced to 20 Years in Mass Rape Trial That ‘Shifted Sides of Shame’

Crowds had gathered to cheer for her, outside the court where the trial was taking place.

Gisele said to them, that on the final day of her trial, she was thinking of victims of sexual abuse, whose stories go unheard. “I want you to know that we share the same fight,” she said. “When I opened the doors to this trial that began on 2 September, I wanted all of society to be a witness to the debates that took place here … I now have confidence in our capacity to find a better future where everyone, women and men alike, can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding.”

Who is Gisele Pelicot and What Happened to Her?

Gisele Pelicot, 72, married Dominique in 1973. The couple has three children and seven grandchildren together.

The two had a long marriage. Gisele, while speaking to a publication said, “I thought we were a strong couple. We had everything to be happy.”

After the couple retired to the quiet town of Mazan in 2013, Gisèle began experiencing a mysterious decline in her health. She suffered significant weight loss, hair fall, and frequent episodes of severe memory lapses, which she described as "total blackouts." She visited many doctors, often with her husband, and appreciated his support through her health issues.

Dominique’s first brush with the police was when he was caught trying to film under the skirts of women, at a local supermarket in France. He was arrested and fined, and Gisele had assumed it was a one-off incident. During the investigation, the police confiscated his phone and laptops and chanced upon thousands of photos and videos of men assaulting an incapacitated woman. This woman would turn out to be Gisele.

“For me, everything collapses,” she told the court. “These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”

For 20 years, her husband had been drugging her, and inviting men over to rape her, while he filmed it. According to reports, he started doing this around 2011 and is believed to have orchestrated over 200 rapes, involving more than 90 men as accomplices.

Read: The Marital Rape Debate Explained: Legalities And The Nuance Of Consent In A Marriage

The Trial: Gisele Chooses a Public Trial

Apart from her husband, 50 other men were identified by the police and stood accused of having raped Gisèle. They are aged between 26 and 74 and have varying professions.

During the entire procedure, Gisele was quite rightly, hailed a hero. She was often greeted by supporters, applauding and cheering for her, for her unwavering bravery, for going through with a public trial for a series of horrific incidents.

Despite everything that happened to her, Gisele chose to flip the script by showing up for the trial and waiving her anonymity.

She said outside court on the final day, "When I opened the doors of this trial on September 2, I wanted society to be able to seize the debates that took place there. I have never regretted that decision.”

She rewrote her own story, devoid of the shame and blame that often follow victims of sexual assault. Rape victims often face shaming at the hands of court, lawyers, society and media. Gisele’s decision spotlights a new choice, which invited support and solidarity from millions of women, and supporters of women’s rights from across the world.

Women on social media opened up about their own ordeals, and hailed her bravery.

I was raped by my ex-partner. Just like Gisèle, I waived my anonymity after he was found guilty to shift the narrative and reject shame. It came with consequences. Horrific trolling, harassment, and abuse. We should never, ever underestimate the bravery of Gisele’s decision.

— Ellie Wilson (@ellieokwilson) December 19, 2024

Also read: Unveiling the Disproportionate Impact: Women in the Shadow of Disasters

Gisele concluded, “I now have confidence in our ability to collectively grasp a future in which everyone, women and men alike, can live in harmony, mutual respect and understanding."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez commended Gisèle Pelicot for her "dignity" following the verdicts. "What dignity. Thank you, Gisèle Pelicot. Shame must change sides," Sanchez wrote on X, echoing the slogan that has come to symbolize Pelicot's bravery in demanding a public trial for the case.