The survivor of mass rapes in France publishes her memoir, detailing the trial that made her a global symbol against gender-based violence.
PARIS: Gisele Pelicot has published her memoirs following the harrowing trial that transformed her into an international figurehead against violence towards women.
Her book chronicles the 2024 trial in Avignon where her ex-husband and 50 other men were convicted for raping her over a decade. Pelicot was systematically drugged by Dominique Pelicot before being assaulted by him and dozens of men he recruited online.
In a powerful decision, she refused to hold the trial behind closed doors. She wanted the world to witness her ordeal.
“When I think back to the moment I made my decision, I realise that if I had been 20 years younger, I might not have dared to refuse a closed session,” Pelicot wrote in her memoir. The book is titled ‘A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides’ in English.
“I would have been afraid of the stares, those damned stares that a woman of my generation has always had to deal with,” she explained in an excerpt published by Le Monde.
The memoir, written with journalist Judith Perrignon, will be released globally in 22 languages on February 17. It details her apprehension before facing her abusers in court.
“The closer it got, the more I imagined myself becoming a hostage to their stares, their lies, their cowardice, and their contempt,” she wrote. “Wasn’t I protecting them by closing the door?”
Pelicot also recounts her initial disbelief when police showed her photographic evidence of the assaults. Her ex-husband had documented the crimes.
“I didn’t recognise the men. Or this woman. Her cheek was so flabby. Her mouth so limp. She was like a rag doll.”
Her courage and dignity during the nearly four-month public trial cemented her status as a leading voice for survivors. She reflected that age may have granted her a form of liberation from societal judgement.
“Perhaps shame fades all the more easily when you’re 70, and no one pays attention to you anymore. I don’t know. I wasn’t afraid of my wrinkles, or my body,” she confided.
