A 72-year-old woman took the stand in France as her husband faces trial for recruiting numerous strangers to assault her.
Gisele Pelicot expressed her resolve to make her case public in hopes of aiding other women and fostering societal change.
Her husband, Dominique Pelicot, has confessed to inviting numerous strangers to their home over almost a decade to violate her after drugging her.
Fifty other men are also on trial, charged with raping her.
Gisele Pelicot applauded following her testimony in the mass abuse trial.
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She described the experience as “unbelievably violent,” particularly when many accused in the trial, which began on September 2, claimed that they believed she consented to the rapes or was merely pretending to be asleep.
“I’ve chosen not to feel ashamed; I’ve done nothing wrong,” Ms. Pelicot stated in the Avignon court in southern France.
She insisted that the trial be conducted publicly, rather than behind closed doors, as is often the case to protect victims, hoping it would benefit others.
“The (rapists) are the ones who should feel ashamed,” Ms. Pelicot emphasized, noting that showing videos, recorded by her husband, of some of the assaults during the trial was “very difficult but necessary.”
“I’m not filled with hatred, but I am resolved to initiate change in this society.”
“This is not simply a matter of courage; it is a determination to invoke change. This fight belongs to all victims of rape, not just myself,” she added.
Most of the accused claimed in court that they were manipulated by Dominique Pelicot, deflecting responsibility onto him.
Only a handful have acknowledged abusing Ms. Pelicot.
Some have offered apologies.
“I hear those apologies, but they are indistinct,” she remarked in court. “Through their apologies, they are attempting to absolve themselves.”
Describing her husband’s betrayal as immeasurable, Ms. Pelicot said: “I’m a woman who has been utterly shattered.”
Initially believing he was the ideal husband, she lamented: “My life has crumbled into nothingness.”
