Raped for years by her husband and dozens of other men, Gisèle Pelicot wants to “change society” — and said so in court

Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old Frenchwoman who was sedated and raped by her husband and dozens of other men for almost ten years, was heard this Wednesday as part of the trial that began in September. “I’m a completely destroyed woman and I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this situation,” she said in court in Avignon.

The French woman has been seen as a symbol in the fight against sexual violence. “It is true that I hear many women, and men, They say I’m very brave. I say that it is not about courage, but about will and determination to change society”, she responded this Wednesday, when asked about how she has remained firm in the face of what she heard in court.

“I wanted all women who were victims of rape – not just when they were drugged, rape exists at all levels – to say: Mrs. Pelicot did it, we did it too. When we are raped, we feel ashamed, but we are not the ones who have to feel ashamed, they are the ones who have to feel ashamed”, he highlighted. “Of course, today I don’t feel responsible for anything. Today, above all, I am a victim.”