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Gisele Pelicot condemned the cowardice of dozens of men accused of abuse during a 10-year mass rape spree orchestrated by her ex-husband and told the court at her trial that France’s patriarchal society must change.
Dominique Pelicot, her ex-husband, admitted in court that he drugged Mrs. Pelicot, 71, and invited strangers to their home to rape her while she was unconscious. Most of the 50 other men on trial deny rape.
She only learned of her ordeal when police came across videos and pictures her husband had taken of the abuse he is accused of orchestrating.
“For me, this is a trial of cowardice, there is no other way to describe it,” said Gisele Pelicot, with many of the defendants in the courtroom.
This is the third time she has addressed the court in Avignon, southern France, as the trial approaches its verdicts and sentences around December 20.
She left her husband and they are now divorced.
Testimony that dozens of seemingly ordinary men, aged 26 to 74 and from all walks of life, could rape an unconscious woman attracted worldwide attention and turned the trial into an examination of the prevalence of sexual violence.
A video taken by her husband and shown in court in recent weeks repeatedly shows Ms. Pelicot motionless, sometimes snoring, as some of the defendants abuse her.
Many of the accused told the court that they were not aware that they were raping her, that they did not intend to rape her, or they put all the blame on her husband, who they claimed had manipulated them.
“It’s time for society to look at this macho, patriarchal society and change the way it views rape,” Ms Pelicot told the court.
Under French law, she could have asked for the trial to be held behind closed doors. Instead, she asked for it to be held publicly, saying she hopes it will help other women speak out and show victims there is nothing to be ashamed of.
“Rape is rape,” she said on Tuesday.
“When you walk into a bedroom and see a motionless body, at what point do you (decide) not to react,” she said, addressing the defendant. “Why didn’t you go immediately to report it to the police?”
She said she would never forgive her husband.
On Monday, the Pelicots’ two sons asked the court to punish him severely and also said that they will never forgive him and that he is dead to them.
Their sister said she believed Mr. Pelicot drugged and abused her as well.
He was due to address the court later on Tuesday. His lawyer, Beatrice Navarro, told reporters that he was “very depressed.”
“He did what he did. There’s no doubt about that. But we still have to note that he’s very alone right now. He’s always going to be very alone,” she said.
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