Pelicot tells rape appeal trial she never gave consent

Gisèle Pelicot, who survived almost a decade of rape by dozens of men after she was drugged by her ex-husband, has told a French court that she never gave consent for anyone to abuse her while she was in a comatose state and that no victim should ever feel shame.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Addressing the appeal trial yesterday of an unemployed builder who has contested his conviction for raping her, she said: "For me, the harm has been done - I will need to rebuild from these ruins and I think I'm on the right road - but what I want to say to others is that I never regretted my decisions, from filing a legal complaint until today. I want to say to victims to never be ashamed of what was imposed on them, because they're never responsible."

Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in last year's rape and sexual assault trial of 51 men. Her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was found guilty of crushing sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication into her food and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her while she was unconscious in their bedroom in the Provence village of Mazan between 2011 and 2020.