Macho society must change attitude, Gisele Pelicot tells court in rape trial

Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged by her husband and allegedly raped by dozens of men he invited into her bedroom, has told a court that "macho" society must change its attitude on rape.

- Angelique Chrisafls

In her final statement to the criminal court in Avignon, she said: "It's time that the macho, patriarchal society that trivialises rape changes It's time we changed the way we look at rape."

A total of 51 men are on trial over the rape of Pelicot, whose then husband, Dominique Pelicot, crushed sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication into her food and invited dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious, over a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020 in the Village of Mazan in Provence. Dominique Pelicot has admitted the charges, telling the court: "I am a rapist."

Some of the other men accused admit rape but others have denied it, saying they did not know Gisele Pelicot had been drugged, despite video evidence showing her unconscious and snoring loudly.

Gisele Pelicot, 72, a former logistics manager, has become a feminist hero after insisting that the rape trial of her ex-husband and the other men be held in public to raise awareness of the use of drugs and sedation to rape women. "It's not for us to have shame, it's for them," she has said.