French woman in mass rape case becomes feminist icon: ‘Shame must change sides’
Thousands protest in support of Gisele Pelicot, whose husband allegedly drugged her then invited dozens of strangers to sexually abuse her
Walking into court each day with her head held high, the ex-wife of a Frenchman on trial for orchestrating her mass rape in her own bed for almost a decade has become a feminist icon.
With her now trademark auburn bob and dark glasses, 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot has become a figurehead in the battle against the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
Her life was shattered in 2020 when she discovered that her partner of five decades had for years been secretly administering her large doses of tranquilisers to rape her and invite dozens of strangers to join him.
But she has decided not to hide and demanded the trial of Dominique Pelicot, 71, and 50 co-defendants since September 2 be open to the public because, as she has said through one of her lawyers, it should be up to her alleged abusers – not her – to be ashamed.
“It’s a way of saying … shame must change sides,” her lawyer Stephane Babonneau said as the trial opened.
Since then, feminist activists have held up her stylised portrait by Belgian artist Aline Dessine, daubed with the words “Shame is changing sides”, to show support at protests. The artist with 2.5 million followers on TikTok has given up all rights to the image.
