Gisele Pelicot tells mass rape trial ‘it’s not us who should feel shame’
Al Jazeera
Addressing the French court for the second time, Pelicot says she’s determined to change how society confronts sexual violence.
Gisele Pelicot, whose ex-husband and dozens of other men are on trial in France and accused of raping her, has addressed a French court for the second time, stating that while she was “broken” by her ordeal she is “determined” to support other women.
Pelicot spoke on Wednesday at the invitation of presiding Judge Roger Arata and encouraged other women who have been sexually assaulted to come forward.
“I wanted all women who are rape victims to say to themselves ‘Mrs Pelicot did it, so we can do it too’,” she said. “It’s not us who should feel shame, but them [the perpetrators]”, she said, referring to her request from the start that the trial should be open to the public.
The 71-year-old has become a feminist icon in France since the trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men opened last month in the southern French city of Avignon.
The case has sparked horror, protests and a debate about male violence in French society.