Stop trivialising rape, says Pelicot in address to court

Gisele Pelicot has criticised the cowardice” of the dozens of men accused of abusing her during a decade of mass rape organised by her husband as she called for an end to a macho, patriarchal society where rape is trivialised”.

- TARA COBHAM

Her husband, Dominique Pelicot, has admitted in court to drugging his wife and inviting strangers to their house to rape her when she was unconscious, while most of the 50 other men on trial have denied rape, with verdicts set to be delivered around 20 December.

Gisele Pelicot, 72, only learnt of her ordeal when police stumbled upon videos and pictures her husband recorded of the abuse he is accused of orchestrating.

“For me, this is the trial of cowardice,” Gisele Pelicot said yesterday, as she addressed the court in Avignon, southern France, for the third time, with many of the accused in the courtroom. “Society needs to open its eyes to the fact that we live in a macho, patriarchal society where rape is trivialised.”