The Savagery Inherent in Misplaced Trust

"I am a rapist, like everyone else in this room. They cannot say otherwise."

"They came looking for me themselves. They asked me, I said yes."

"Stop suspecting her all the time [lawyers for the defence suggesting his wife was conscious and enabling her rapes]. I did many things without her knowing."

Dominique Pelicot, 71, France

 

"For fifty years, I lived with a man who I couldn't imagine for even a single second could have committed these acts."

"I trusted this man completely."

"I didn't give my consent to Mr. Pelicot or these men behind me for one second."

"Since I've arrived in this courtroom, I've felt humiliated. I am treated of being an alcoholic, an accomplice."

"I have heard it all."

Gisele Pelicot, 72

Gisèle Pelicot, right, who has allegedly been drugged and raped by men solicited by her husband, Dominique Pelicot, arrives with her lawyer, Antoine Camus, left, during the trial of her husband and 50 co-accused, at the courthouse in Avignon, France, on Thursday. (Antony Paone/Reuters)

 

Married for fifty years, living in the Avignon region of France, raising three children together, Gisele Pelicot had no idea that for the last ten  years of the fifty she lived with her now-ex-husband he drugged her for the purpose of having any man who might be interested, raping her. He circulated invitations for sex with his wife, entirely without her knowledge, and men from all walks of life responded, visiting the family home, seeing a woman lying unconscious, proceeded to rape her.

 

Those same men -- by no means all those who raped her over that ten-year period, but those who could be identified, denied having knowledge of the man's wife being drugged and having sex with the unconscious woman who had not consented to being raped, in the belief she had agreed. At least 72 people took part in the rapes, many of them multiple times. Of that total of 92 rapes taking place between 2011 and 2020, 50 are standing trial as well as Gisele Pelicot's husband.

Her ex-husband during the trial informed the French court that not only is he a rapist but so too are all the other men accused of raping his wife. His testimony was in direct contrast of that of many of the 50 other men claiming innocence. Having recruited men over online platforms to arrive at the couple's home as well as other locations, given his encouragement, they assaulted her and now face a litany of charges, rape included.

 

Prosecutors noted that Dominique Pelicot regularly sedated  his wife with crushed anti-anxiety medication she was unaware of. He had strict rules the men accused of raping his wife had to follow. They were not to smell of perfume or smoke to avoid inadvertently waking her. Some 35 of the defendants are contesting the charges, among some of whom argued it was their impression the couple was living out a sexual fantasy (when it was obvious it was they were living out a sexual fantasy).

The raped woman insisted she be identified by her real name, asking for the trial to be an open court event, determined the world know what had happened to her. The sexual assaults that took place over a decade have left Gisele Pelicot with physical and psychological scars. As how would they not?

It was only by misadventure that she even discovered the odious victimization she suffered, was perpetrated by the man she had trusted and lived with for fifty years. In 2020 her husband was caught filming women under their skirts. When police searched his electronic device they discovered hundreds of photos and videos depicting the sexual assaults against his wife. 

Now the woman who suffered such unbelievably wretched trauma is once again suffering in a French courtroom, as lawyers for some of the men accused of raping her while she was conscious ask about her habits, her personality and her sex life; questioning whether she was really unconscious during the encounters. These men range in age from 26 to 74, many are married and have children, among them firefighters, journalists, and soldiers.

Crowds took to the streets in France over the weekend to show support for Gisèle Pélicot, whose husband is accused of drugging her and allowing strangers to rape her over several years.