As Gisèle Pelicot made her final statement to the Avignon court in November, she was clear on what she hopes the outcome of the trial will be. “It’s time that the macho, patriarchal society that trivialises rape changes,” she said. “It’s time we changed the way we look at rape.” Gisèle’s decision to waive her right to anonymity and to open the court room to the world’s media have made her a feminist folk hero. No one has been able to look away from so much horror laid bare.
The verdicts, due to be handed down to the 51 men on trial for raping her, are coming in. Gisèle’s former husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted to the charges of drugging his wife of over 50 years and inviting men on the internet to rape her. “I am a rapist,” he told the court, “like the others in this room.” He has been given the maximum sentence for rape under French law: 20 years.
