‘We have the same struggle’: French court convicts Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband, 50 others in mass rape case
Gisele Pelicot arrives to attend the verdict in the rape trial of her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-accused, at a courthouse in Avignon, France, on Dec. 19, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz© Manon Cruz, REUTERS
A French court on Thursday sentenced Dominique Pelicot, the ex-husband of Gisele Pelicot, to 20 years imprisonment for repeatedly drugging her and recruiting dozens of other men to rape her while she was unconscious in a case that stunned France and the world.
Dominique Pelicot was convicted of aggravated rape and other charges along with 50 other men. The case was the largest rape trial in French history and shocked the nation’s conscience. Gisele Pelicot, 72, waived her right to anonymity as she faced her abusers in court, becoming a champion of justice and sexual abuse awareness.
“I will have to live with this for the rest of my life,” Pelicot said last month while giving evidence.
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In brief remarks outside the courthouse after the verdict she thanked her supporters, saying victims “often live in the shadows” and that “we have the same struggle” for justice. She said she had “confidence in our capacity collectively to find a better future where women and men alike can live together with mutual respect.”
‘We are all Gisele’: French women rise up against ‘rape culture’ during Giswle Pelicot trial
Why the Pelicot case shocked France
The abuse against Gisele Pelicot, a grandmother who believed she was in a loving marriage, lasted nearly a decade. Her husband sedated her with sleeping pills and filmed the men abusing her.
More: Gisele Pelicot went public in French rape case, and it made all the differenceRelated video: Courage of Gisèle Pelicot Brings Justice in Historic French Abuse Case (Cover Video)
Courage of Gisèle Pelicot Brings Justice in Historic French Abuse CaseUnmute
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She requested the trial take place in open court because she wanted the world to know what had happened to her. She attended every day of the trial in Avignon, a city in southeastern France, surrounded by her family.
Who were the perpetrators?
The case also appalled France because, in addition to the horrific betrayal from her husband, the other culprits represent a wide section of society, highlighting just how widespread sexual abuse is, and who’s prepared to do it.
The men convicted on Thursday were young and old, white and Black, and came from all walks of French professional life. They were firefighters, soldiers, a baker, a nurse, a journalist, a DJ and a sports coach.
Pelicot blasts ‘patriarchal society’: 51 men were charged with raping her
They were fathers, grandfathers, husbands and retirees. They ranged in age from 26 to 74.
Their sentences ranged from three to 15 years.
What happens now?
Lawyers for some of those convicted, including Dominique Pelicot, said they may consider an appeal.
All of the defendants have 10 days to do so.
More details: Gisele Pelicot went public in French rape case, and it made all the difference
Many in France said the country, and indeed the world, had changed because of Gisele Pelicot’s courage, composure and decision to keep the trial public, which has galvanized discussion around sexual assault. The case has stirred protests, renewed scrutiny of France’s rape laws and spurred other sexual assault accusers to come forward in a nation that has sometimes balked at the so-called #MeToo movement.
“Through you, it is the voice of so many victims that carries today, the shame that changes sides, the taboo that is broken. The world is no longer the same thanks to you,” Yael Braun-Pivet, the president of France’s National Assembly − the country’s Parliament − said on social media after the verdict was announced.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org/online and receive confidential support.
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