Gisele Pelicot, a 72-year-old woman, has become a symbol of resilience and defiance after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. The case has sparked nationwide discussions about sexual assault and support for survivors.
It is a crime so brutal and depraved it defies words - so outside the court, they applaud instead. Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse Since September, people have lined the route in Avignon clapping as Gisele Pelicot walks past. It is a wordless act of support for the 72-year-old woman at the centre of a mass rape trial that has sent shockwaves across France . It is a message that she, not the rapists, holds the power.
An echo of Gisele's rallying cry that 'shame must change sides'. For four months, she has sat through the case of her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted drugging and raping her for almost a decade and inviting other men to do the same. Fifty men were accused of rape and sexual assault. The majority denied the charges. Follow latest: Pelicot trial sentencing - live When Gisele walks into court now, her head is up, her eyes look ahead. In the earlier days, she often hid behind sunglasses. Her legal team has suggested removing the glasses was about more than a change in seasons. It marked the moment she no longer felt the need to protect herself and hide her eyes. After waiving her right to anonymity so the trial could be heard in public, Gisele's face has become one of the most recognisable of the year, graffitied on walls, held on placards at demonstrations, emblazoned on the front cover of Vogue magazine's German edition. It is a monumental shift from the life the mother-of-three was living just four years ago. A monster in the house In early 2020, Gisele Pelicot lived with her then husband Dominique in the pretty Provencal village of Mazan, their pale yellow bungalow nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac. It was here the couple spent their retirement after moving from Paris in 2013. Gisele remembers it as a happy time. Her friends and family liked Dominique, and they had seven grandchildren. After meeting when she was just 19, Dominique claimed it was 'love at first sight'. Gisele believed he was 'the perfect husband'
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