Rape victim to Torchbearer

71-year-old Gisele Pelicot was under the impression of being a happily married retired woman, after she shifted to Mazan in France to enjoy her retired life with her then husband Dominique Pelicot in 2013. Born on December 7, 1952, in Germany, Giselle shifted to France at the age of five years. She lost her mother when she was nine years old. She fell in love with Dominique Pelicot in 1971 and soon the duo got married. Dominique claimed it to be “love at first sight”. Both have three children- Caroline, Florian, and David. The duo was divorced once in 2001 for several reasons; however, they got together again in 2007.

The couple had spent most of their prime years in Paris and later shifted to Mazan in 2013, post-retirement. Gisele had worked in the administration department of the state electricity company while Dominique is a retired electrician, an estate agent and a failed businessman. Giselle had shifted to Mazan with Domnique with a dream to live a happy retired life with their seven grandchildren around them. However, life took an unexpectedly wicked turn and the decade of torture paved way for anti-sexual abuse movement in France.

Her life was that of a typical retired grandmother revolving around her grandchildren in a cute little happy home of her in Mazan. However, in a startling unfolding of events, on September 2, 2020 a supermarket owner filed a complaint against Dominique accusing him of filming skirts of women near a store in Mazan. The police soon sprang into action to dig the truth.

As the investigation progressed, the police seized mobile phones, computer and storage devices in the Pelicot house in a bid to ascertain some facts. Later, on a regular routine day somewhere November 2020, Gisele received a call from the police. She assumed that her husband was summoned for a regular questioning session in connection with the complaint made by the store owner. Little did she know that it would be the last time that she would wave a respectful good-bye to Dominique.

After almost a month of Dominique being behind the bars, police called Gisele to share what they had found during a month-long investigation. She visited the police station, and what she saw was nothing less than an obnoxiously scary horror story. She saw images, she saw videos. She turned numb, when she saw herself being raped in her own bed by men she had never met, and what completely froze her was the fact that she failed to recollect even a moment of what she was seeing.

She was raped without her knowledge. When she asked the police, since this was happening, the police unfolded the horrific findings of the sinister plan that her husband had been meticulously executing for almost a decade. Those pictures were stored in her husband’s computer. Police opened a folder named “abuses”.

As per media reports, Domnique used to log in with a user id- “fetish 45” into an online chat room and would invite stranger men to rape Giselle. The rapists would range from 26 years of age to 50 plus and were from various professions from journalism, to medical experts to shopkeepers.

When Giselle saw the videos, she was traumatised, and shocked to know how she was unknowingly subjected to such level of torture in her own happy home by her own husband. As she tried to recollect hard, she pointed out that her husband would quite often volunteer to cook and very regularly arranged her favourite desserts for her. Needless to say, like any typical woman and a wife, Giselle was flattered, she felt special when her husband cooked for her and fed her desserts.

What is surprising is whether how she did not have a single memory of the multiple rape incidents that occurred with her. The investigation then revealed that Dominique got himself prescribed with an anti-anxiety drug called Temesta citing that he had stress due to financial downfall. The drug is quite common in France. Media reports said that from 2011 to 2020, Dominique Pelicot drugged his wife by mixing sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication Temesta, which used to have a sedative effect, into her food.

The drug kept her in an unconscious state for hours and she would not have a single memory of what happened to her till the effect of that drug on her was fresh. She had lost weight, she suffered from symptoms of amnesia. She was made to believe that it was probably an initial stage of Alzheimer’s that she was suffering from.

She was raped by over 80 men; She was raped almost every single night. What is hard to believe is that she never contracted a sexually transmitted disease, nor did she ever get pregnant. Even sex workers who take all kinds of precautions often face unwanted pregnancies or get infected. Giselle Pelicot was raped every single day for nearly 10 years. Isn’t it hard to believe that she was not suspicious over her husband’s behaviour even once, given the fact that the duo had separated once in 2001, and had got back together again in 2007.

Some media reports suggest that she always knew what was happening to her, and she had maintained silence for a decade out of fear for her position in the society. Besides, another media report also highlights the possibility that the anti-anxiety drug called Temesta was prescribed to Gisele as she was suffering from anxiety and that the overdose of the same was done by Domnique to get her raped by strangers.

However, irrespective of whether she knew it, or it came to her as an obnoxious surprise, or whether she was officially prescribed Temesta, the most important fact is that Dominique is proven guilty and has been slapped with a jail term of 20 years. Media reports said that he admitted in the courtroom that the 50 out of the 80 plus rapists who were pleaded guilty were aware that they were going to rape an unconscious woman.

Dominique said, “No one is born a pervert. I am a rapist like all 50 others sitting here.” Reports said that perversion was the only motive behind Domnique’s disgusting plan and that he viewed the photos, and videos of rape for his own satisfaction. He had a fantasy to watch his wife being raped by different men. Needless to say, the duo got divorced soon after Giselle Pelicot discovered the truth. Having said that, it remains an ambiguous truth regarding Caroline, who claims to be a forgotten victim in this case. Media reports suggest the court observed lack of evidence against Dominique on claims of abusing his own daughter Caroline.

Being the torch bearer of Frances’ biggest rape trial, Giselle paved way for a mass movement. Soon after the incident came to light in September 2020, France witnessed significant demonstrations against sexual violence, particularly in response to the harrowing case of Gisele Pelicot. The case galvanized public outrage and spurred nationwide protests.

On September 14, 2024, feminist organizations launched protests in 30 French cities to express solidarity with Pelicot and other victims of sexual violence. Hundreds of demonstrators expressed solidarity with Pelicot and her ordeal. Another round of demonstrations took place on October 20, 2024, with rallies in Paris, Lyon, and other cities, emphasizing the demand for stronger measures against sexual violence and support for survivors. The protests have triggered discussions about consent in French law, suggesting the need to revise certain laws that currently define rape without explicit reference to consent.