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Survivor's Memoir Exposes Husband's Rape Ring
11 Feb
Summary
- Gisele Pelicot survived a decade of drugging and rape by her husband and his recruits.
- She bravely chose an open trial in 2024 to expose the horrific abuse.
- Her memoir, "A Hymn to Life," details her courageous fight against violence.
Gisele Pelicot, a survivor of mass rapes organized by her ex-husband in southern France, has published her memoirs, "A Hymn to Life," detailing the trial that transformed her into an international advocate against violence. For ten years, Pelicot was drugged with tranquilisers by Dominique Pelicot, her ex-husband, and subsequently raped by him and dozens of men he recruited online.
During her 2024 trial in Avignon, which attracted global attention, Pelicot deliberately chose not to hold the proceedings behind closed doors, seeking to expose the abuse. She reflects that she might not have dared to refuse a closed session if she had been younger, citing fears of "damned stares" and societal judgment that "a woman of my generation has always had to deal with."
Her courageous stance and dignified bearing during the nearly four-month trial, which resulted in the conviction of 51 men including her husband, significantly contributed to her becoming a leading figure in the movement to end violence against women. The book also recounts her initial disbelief upon seeing police photos of the assaults and her internal struggles with "vague feelings" and fear of public scrutiny before the trial commenced.
