Not because we are ashamed, says the survivor of mass rape Gisele Pelicot in the French court

Gisele Pelicot, la 72-year-old mass rape victim whose ordeal has shocked the world, told a court in southern France on Wednesday that she was determined that going public with her case should help other women and change society.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, has admitted to inviting dozens of strangers over nearly ten years to their home to rape her after drugging her. Fifty other men are also on trial, accused of raping her.

Gisele Pelicot, her voice often shaking with emotion, told the court she was devastated by what happened to her. She said how it was “incredibly violent” for her that many of the defendants at the trial, which began on September 2, said they thought she agreed to the rapes or was pretending to be asleep.

“I have decided not to be ashamed, I have done nothing wrong,” Gisele Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence, told the court in Avignon.

She said she had insisted that the trial be held in public and not behind closed doors, as is often the case to protect rape victims, in the hope that it would help other rape victims.

“It is they (the rapists) who should be ashamed,” she said, adding that having videos, filmed by her husband, of some of her rapes, shown during the trial, was “very difficult but necessary”.

“I’m not expressing hate or hate, but I’m determined to change things in this society,” said Gisele Pelicot.

Protests have been organized across France to show support for Gisele Pelicot, with many women expressing admiration for her courage.

“It’s not courage. It’s determination to change things,” he said. “This is not just my battle, but that of all rape victims.”

Most of the defendants told the court that they have been manipulated by Dominique Pelicot, rejecting his guilt. Only a few have admitted to raping Gisele Pelicot.

Some have apologized.

“I hear these apologies, but they are unheard of,” he told the court. “By apologizing, they’re trying to excuse themselves.”

Gisele Pelicot said her husband’s betrayal of her trust was beyond measure, she told the court: “I am a woman who is completely destroyed.”

She had thought he was the perfect husband, she told the court, before adding: “My life has come to nothing.”

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