Gisèle Pelicot Age, Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Gisèle Pelicot

• She moved to France from Germany with her family when she was 5 years old.

• When she was 9 years old, her mother died due to cancer.

• Growing up, Gisèle wanted to be a hairdresser but studied to become a typist.

• She has worked as a business manager at EDF (Électricité de France), a multinational electric utility company.

• She met her husband for the first time in 1971.

• The couple divorced in 2001 to protect their assets from a debt settlement plan after her husband, Dominique Pelicot’s electrical engineering company went bankrupt.

• She moved with her husband from Villiers-sur-Marne, Paris to Mazan, Vaucluse in March 2013 to retire together.

• In September 2020, her husband was caught taking pictures of women under their skirts in a supermarket.

• It was only after this incident that police went through his mobile phone, computer, and hard drives to discover several videos and photographs of his wife getting raped.

• A folder titled ABUS (ABUSE) was found on his computer which contained over 20,000 images and videos of the rapes with Gisèle being unconscious in them.

• There were also naked pictures of his daughter and daughters-in-law. The incident resulted in their son, Florian Pelicot’s divorce.
  

  Florian Pelicot (right), David Pelicot, and Caroline Peyronnet at the courthouse of Avignon

• During the investigation, police found that he was a member of a private chatroom called ‘à son insu’ (without her knowledge), where members discussed performing sexual acts on their partners without consent, often after drugging them.

• On 2 September 2024, a trial against 51 men including her husband for the charges of raping Gisèle Pelicot began in the court of Avignon.
  

  Gisèle Pelicot entering the court with her son Florian Pelicot and her lawyer

• She became an icon internationally, especially in France due to her stance of waiving her anonymity and making her trial public to spread awareness about her case and provide solidarity to the victims of rape.
  

  A poster on the wall near the courthouse of Avignon which translates to ‘Gisèle, women thank you’

• According to her attorney, Stephane Babonneau, it was a way for Gisèle to say that ‘shame must change sides,’ a phrase that has become synonymous with the case.

• The news of her rape also started a public discussion in France on adding ‘consent’ to France’s legal definition of rape.

• During the trial, she would meet several supporters daily welcoming her to the court and applauding her for her courage when she would leave.

• Many protests were organised in 30 different areas of France to support her and other victims of rape on 14 September 2024.
  

  A protest held in support of Gisèle Pelicot and victims of rape in Paris

• On 23 October 2024, while testifying in court, she stated that she wants the perpetrators of rape to feel shame rather than the victims and said,
  

  It’s not for us to have shame, it’s for them. I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too. I don’t want them to be ashamed any longer.”

  

  A mural dedicated to Gisèle Pelicot by French artist, Maca with the text that translates to ‘Why does shame change sides’

• Dominique claimed that he started to abuse his wife after she was prescribed prescribed lorazepam (Temesta), an anxiety-reducing drug that causes drowsiness.
  

  A courtroom sketch showing Dominique Pelicot during his trial

• He claimed that he would mix Temesta in Gisèle’s drinks and food before raping her and filming the abuse.

• He also admitted to inviting several men to rape Gisèle Pelicot while she was unconscious due to the drugs and making videos of the rapes.

• It was found that her rapists ranged from different age groups and occupations, with the youngest being a 25-year-old soldier and the oldest being a 72-year-old pensioner, with 10 people returning on various occasions.
  

  A sketch produced by the court artist of some of the accused men

• Her husband revealed that he would ask the perpetrators to park away from the house to avoid getting noticed and wait for an hour till she lost consciousness due to the pills he had given to her.

• Dominique Pelicot took several precautions to avoid waking up his wife and asked the perpetrators not to wear perfume or smoke due to Gisèle’s keen sense of smell.

• They were further asked to remove their clothes before entering the bedroom and use the heater to warm their hands.

• It was further revealed in the trial that the perpetrators didn’t wear any condoms due to Pelicot’s demand. This resulted in Gisèle contracting four sexually transmitted infections.

• Although one of her rapists was HIV positive and had raped her six times, she did not contract HIV or hepatitis B and C.

• After the rape, Dominique would clean Gisèle’s body to avoid any suspicion.

• Dominique has revealed that he didn’t take any money from the perpetrators.

• During the trial, it was revealed that some of the accused had homosexual relations with Dominique while others provided him with drugs to sedate Gisèle.

• Some of the accused have pleaded guilty to raping Gisèle Pelicot and have pleaded guilty.

• Many others rejected the notion of raping Gisèle but accepted having been tricked by her husband into thinking that their actions were consensual.

• On 19 November 2024, in her final appearance for the trial, she stated that the society should change its attitude towards rape.
  

  A courtroom sketch showing Gisèle Pelicot giving her closing statement while her ex-husband watches

• She further called it ‘a trial of cowardice’ as several of the accused didn’t accept that they raped her. She asked her rapists how they couldn’t understand that they don’t have her consent and said,
  

  Since this trial began, I have heard many things. I have seen people parade before the court who, for the most part, deny rape and I find it very difficult to face this triviality. I want to ask you, at what point, when you entered that room, did I give you my consent? At what point, when you saw that lifeless body, did you become conscious? I heard ‘I was being manipulated’, ‘I drank a glass of water, I was drugged’. But at what point did they not understand?”

• Due to the rapes and medications administered by Dominique on Gisèle, she started to fear for her health as she lost nearly 16 kilograms (35 lb) in weight and suffered hair loss.

• She further experienced memory loss due to the drugs which made her fear that she was either suffering from Alzheimer’s or a brain tumour.

• During the court proceedings, she exclaimed in anger that she had lost 10 years of her life by worrying about her health, feeling like she had been given a death sentence due to her illness.

• She stated that she never suspected anything happened to her as she would wake up in her clothes and lead a regular lifestyle with her husband.

• She admitted during the trial to having an affair in the 1990s and being forgiven by her husband. She also claimed that her husband had several affairs.

• Defence lawyers asked Gisèle why she continued to use her ex-husband’s surname, ‘Pelicot.’ She admitted that although her children were ashamed of the surname, her grandchildren use that surname. Wishing for them to be proud of her, she said,
  

  I have grandchildren who are called that. Today, I want them to be proud of their grandmother. My name is known across the world now. They shouldn’t be ashamed of carrying that name. Today we will remember Gisèle Pelicot.”