For over two months, Gisele Pelicot occupied a seat in a courtroom as videos, recorded by her husband, depicted numerous men sexually assaulting her.

During all these assaults, she was unaware and asleep.

Pelicot chose not to leave the courtroom during the disturbing video presentations. In fact, she fought to have these videos made public.

On Tuesday, Pelicot delivered her final remarks in the trial against the 51 men who allegedly raped her after her husband drugged her and brought the men to their home for nearly a decade of abuse. This case has captivated France and sparked widespread feminist protests, leading to a reevaluation of the prevalence of rape and sexual violence.

Throughout the trial, Pelicot remained steadfast in holding the accused rapists responsible, which inspired the feminist rallying cry “shame must change sides.” Her concluding remarks reflected this commitment.

“It’s time for society to confront its macho, patriarchal norms and rethink its view on rape,” she stated.

In court were many of the accused, who came from various professions and backgrounds. They claimed throughout the trial that they thought they were simply partaking in their husband’s sexual games and did not realize they were committing rape.

Pelicot condemned their “cowardice” directly.

“When you enter a bedroom and see a lifeless body, at what moment do you choose not to act? Why didn’t you report it to the police immediately?”

“For me, this is the trial of cowardice, nothing else can describe it,” she declared.

The trial highlighted a “lack of understanding about what constitutes abuse” and demonstrated that an abuser can be “anyone,” including individuals “who don’t recognize themselves as abusers,” explained Violette Perrotte, director of Le Maison des Femmes, a French nonprofit organization focused on support for women affected by violence.

“We always emphasize that domestic violence does not conform to one type of victim or abuser,” she added. The trial exemplified the diverse profiles of individuals capable of committing abuse.

‘Our family has been shattered’

Until contacted by the authorities, Gisele Pelicot was under the impression that her marriage to Dominique Pelicot was happy. She believed the memory loss and troubling symptoms she experienced for years were unrelated, fearing she had a brain tumor or Alzheimer’s, leading her to consult various doctors, according to the New York Times.

The truth emerged in 2020, when her husband was arrested for filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket. Upon examining his belongings, officials discovered approximately 300 images and videos of her being assaulted by 72 different men.

Dominique Pelicot had connected with these men through Coco.gg, a now-defunct anonymous chat website linked to a series of murders, rapes, and assaults.

During the trial, Dominique Pelicot admitted, “I am a rapist, just like the rest of you in this room.”

However, in his final address, he insisted he was innocent when it came to abusing their daughter, who uses the pseudonym Caroline Darian, or their grandchildren, even though nude images of Darian were found among his possessions.

“You lack the courage to tell the truth!” Darian shouted in court. “You will die in a lie. You are alone in your deception.”

“Our family has been shattered,” David Pelicot, one of her two brothers, stated in court on Monday. He hopes the trial will lead to punishment for the accused men, including his father, whom he referred to as “that man,” for “the horrors they inflicted on my mother.”

When his father interrupted his statements to apologize, David Pelicot retorted, “Never!”

Florian Pelicot, the couple’s other son, shared in court that it has been four years since he lost his father. He expressed hope that the court would impose a severe penalty on his father to encourage other victims of rape to come forward.

Perrotte expressed her belief that the trial would have a significant impact, particularly by highlighting that most rapists are often known to their victims and that the concept of a “perfect victim” or “perfect crime” does not exist. Her organization, for instance, now trains professionals on the issue of “chemical submission,” which refers to drugging a victim in a sexual assault.

“The patriarchal structure is not going away anytime soon,” she concluded.

“However, it has certainly influenced our perception of offenders,” she mentioned.