Gisèle Pelicot, bearing witness at mass rape trial, pulls back curtain on what survivors face
© Lily Radziemski/Courthouse News
AVIGNON, France (CN) — Almost every day, Gisèle Pelicot sits in a courtroom in the Avignon Judicial Court to listen to testimony from the 51 men on trial for raping her. The rapes were orchestrated by her ex-husband, who sits directly across the room in a glass box flanked by two policemen.
On Wednesday, when Gisèle Pelicot walked through the lobby, the room erupted in applause. Dozens of people crowd into the courthouse every day in a show of solidarity.
Pelicot, 71, has been lauded for her strength and bravery since the trial began Sept. 2. She waived her right to anonymity in hopes of bringing attention to survivors of sexual abuse, and to shift the shame from the victim to the perpetrator.
The case has shocked France. Investigators say her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71, systematically drugged her over roughly 10 years, and invited strangers to rape her while she was unconscious. The abuse happened mostly in their family home in Mazan, a southern French town with a population of 6,000.
He was caught while under investigation for filming under women’s skirts in a supermarket. Police found thousands of photos and videos of the rapes on a USB drive connected to his computer.
The open trial has not only brought attention to survivors of sexual abuse. It has given widespread exposure into how rape trials function, and is shedding light on why many victims may hesitate to come forward.
Anne Bouillon , a prominent French lawyer for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, told Courthouse News that the criminal trial for rape victims is “a difficult exercise that is rough, that is sometimes violent.”
“What is perhaps most disturbing are insinuations that would aim to make the complainant bear responsibility,” Bouillon said. “And questions that would be directed to undermine or cast doubt on the credibility of the complainant.”