Tuesday, November 19, 2024 marked the last day of hearings in the Mazan rape trial, before the start of the pleadings. Gisèle Pélicot spoke, as did her ex-husband and main accused, Dominique Pélicot.
It was her last opportunity to speak at the bar, in this trial that has made her an icon in the fight against sexual violence and chemical submission around the world. This Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Gisèle Pélicot spoke again before the Vaucluse departmental criminal court, where 51 men are being tried for having raped her in a state of unconsciousness, induced by the medication that her husband, Dominique Pélicot, administered to her without her knowledge. “For me, this is the trial of cowardice. It is high time that the macho and patriarchal society, which trivializes rape, changes. It is time that we change the way we look at rape,” hammered the septuagenarian at the Avignon court, where hundreds of anonymous people and journalists follow the progress of the trial every day. “I have seen individuals who deny rape appear before the court,” she continued, referring to the defense of the overwhelming majority of the accused, who claim not to have had the “intention” of abusing her.
“We will remember Mrs. Pélicot, much less Mr. Pélicot”
“I have a lot of trouble with this banality. I want to say to these men: at what point when you enter this room did Mrs. Pélicot give you consent? At what point, faced with this inert body, do you become aware? At what point are you not going to report it to the police?” added Gisèle Pélicot, according to comments reported by our colleagues at Le Monde and France Info. She also wanted to point out – contrary to what some defense lawyers may have implied, who believe that she is still under the “influence” of Dominique Pélicot – that she in no way excuses the actions of her now ex-husband. “People think that I forgive Mr. Pélicot. I haven’t forgiven anything,” added the septuagenarian. Despite this, and although she now regrets being “known throughout the world, regardless of [her] will”, the plaintiff nevertheless wants to keep the family name she got from Dominique Pélicot: “We will remember Mrs. Pélicot, much less Mr. Pélicot. I want my grandchildren not to be ashamed of bearing this name. We will remember the grandmother, Gisèle Pélicot.”
