How the French heroine “shame made her switch sides”

Brave Gisèle Pelicot was drugged unconscious and raped by her husband and 50 men he invited to have sex with her in their small Provençal village in southeastern France.

The 72-year-old pensioner should have been the ultimate victim.

Instead, Pelicot became a feminist folk hero and a symbol of hope in France because she renounced her anonymity and showed her face to the world during the harrowing trial of her husband of 50 years.

“Bravo Madame!” blared the headline in Le Parisien after a French court on Thursday sentenced Dominique Pelicot to a maximum of 20 years in prison for drugging and raping Gisèle and allowing other men to rape her while she was unconscious was, an abuse that lasted almost a decade.

Pelicot’s sentence came after he was found guilty of all charges against him. Since he is also 72 years old, he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

The verdict was read by the chief judge of the Avignon court, Roger Arata.

Arata read out each verdict against Pelicot and the 50 men in turn, declaring: “You are therefore found guilty of aggravated rape of the person of Mme. Gisèle Pelicot,” to everyone.

“Merci Gisèle!” A crowd of women screamed as Pelicot left court on Thursday, in a scream that has become synonymous with Pelicot’s suffering and courage. It is hoped the case will change attitudes towards sexual assault in France, a country where the #MeToo movement never really took hold.

“I want you to know that we are fighting the same fight,” Pelicot said in her first words after the verdict, expressing “my deep gratitude to the people who have supported me.”

Pelicot said she insisted that the nearly four-month trial and evidence be made public, and she joined the proceedings – not just for herself, but for her family and other women who were victims of sexual abuse.

Her daughter Caroline Darian, 45, one of three children with Dominique, also took part in the hearing.

Photos were found on her father’s laptop of Caroline, who appeared to be on drugs and was sometimes pictured naked or in her mother’s underwear. He denied drugging or assaulting her, but the evidence leaves unanswered questions about the family.

The Pelicot family has been shattered since revelations of Dominique’s violence towards his wife were revealed.

“At this moment I am thinking primarily of my three children David, Caroline and Florian,” said Gisèle on Thursday.

“I also think of my grandchildren, because they are the future, and I fought this fight for them too, as well as my daughters-in-law Aurore and Céline…

“I wanted the whole of society to witness the debates that took place here. I have never regretted this decision. I trust in our ability to prepare together for a future in which everyone, women and men, can live in harmony, with respect and mutual understanding. Thank you very much.”

She also thanked those who sent her support, saying people’s messages touched her deeply and “gave me the strength to come back every day and get through these long daily hearings.”

The fifty other men found guilty of aggravated rape or molestation were sentenced to three to 15 years in prison – far less than prosecutors sought.

Feminist groups and advocates for ending sexual violence were angered by what they said were too lenient sentences, although Ms. Pelicot said she accepted the court’s decision.

But many other women in France were at a loss.

“Every day of the trial increased the collective shock and despair at the sheer number of ‘normal men’ who all agreed that raping an unconscious woman was perfectly fine,” said Allison Coe, a blogger from the south of France, told The Post.

“Then there is the nightmare that it happens in her own bedroom, orchestrated by the man she loved… and only revealed by accident!

“Giselle Pelicot’s incredible strength in facing this heinous evil head-on and refusing to let any of it be hidden is a game-changer and will help future victims ‘make the shame change sides.'” What a Hero she is. And how despicable the men.”

Dominique Pelicot admitted that he drugged his then-wife of 50 years for years so that he and strangers could abuse her, and even filmed the attacks.

He is believed to have drugged her between 2011 and 2020 and invited up to 83 men to rape her too, mostly through a local website.

“Sexuality had nothing to do with it,” a supporter who lives not far from Mazan told The Post. “She snored the whole time. She actually felt weird in the morning, but he gave her gas and she thought she had a brain tumor or was getting Alzheimer’s.”

Dominique Pelicot testified that he hid sedatives in food and drinks he gave his then-wife, which left her so deeply incapacitated that he was able to implement his medical plan for hours before she woke up.

He was accidentally caught by police in September 2020 when a supermarket security guard caught him secretly filming women’s skirts.

During the investigation, police found his library of homemade porn documenting his wife’s years of abuse – a total of more than 20,000 photos and videos, stored on computer drives and cataloged in folders labeled “Abuse,” “Your Rapists,” “Night Alone.” “ etc other titles.

Gisèle’s stoicism and bravery during the painful and shocking trial have made the retired utility operator a national icon.

“How she had this courage I don’t know, it’s just incredible,” Joan P. White, the American-born director of the Paris Fashion Institute, told The Post.

“She sent a great message to herself and other women: They are not the ones who should be ashamed.

“People expected her to hide and not show her face, but she did the opposite. What a bastard this husband was. He encouraged her to believe she was crazy. He should be shot for that alone. I thought about writing her a letter.

“Every woman I know in France felt like her savior. One of my friends went to cheer her on in court.”

Annette Young, presenter at FRANCE 24 in Paris, agreed.

“May this herald the beginning of a shift in the way society views rape and, most importantly, in the way we treat survivors,” she said.

“As Gisèle Pelicot says, it’s time for ‘shame to switch sides.'” Our eternal thanks go to Gisèle and her children for not only going public, but also graciously handling the media attention that came with it. “