Gisèle Pelicot: Survivor’s Voice in France’s Mass Rape Trial
Gisèle Pelicot: Survivor’s Voice in France’s Mass Rape Trial
In an intimate BBC interview, Gisèle Pelicot shares the horror she endured, her choice to reveal her story, and the impact of France’s largest rape trial.
Gisèle Pelicot is at the heart of a landmark case in France, a survivor who has chosen to speak out as she nears the release of her memoir, A Hymn To Life. The abuse she suffered is believed to have begun in 2011 and only came to light in 2020, when the full scale of the crimes emerged. In her words, the years of betrayal unfolded as a torrent, and she describes the moment the truth hit as something like a tsunami. Her husband repeatedly drugged her unconscious and invited dozens of men to rape her, a chilling realization that shattered the life she believed she shared with him. Her account is not just about the events but about the emotional aftermath and the long path to healing.
