For more than two months, Gisele Pelicot endured a courtroom ordeal where videos—recorded by her husband—depicted numerous men sexually assaulting her.

Throughout these assaults, she was unconscious.

Pelicot chose not to leave the courtroom during the video presentations; instead, she actively advocated for their public viewing.

On Tuesday, Pelicot presented her closing statement in the case against the 51 men accused of raping her after her husband drugged her and permitted the men to abuse her repeatedly over nearly a decade. This case has captured national attention in France, ignited feminist demonstrations, and initiated a broader conversation regarding the widespread nature of rape and sexual violence.

Throughout the proceedings, Pelicot firmly placed the blame on her accusers, fueling the chant “shame must change sides” adopted by feminist protesters. Her final statements reflected this stance.

“It’s time for society to confront its macho, patriarchal views and reassess how it perceives rape,” she asserted.

In attendance were several of the accused, men from diverse backgrounds and professions. They expressed throughout the trial that they believed they were simply engaging in their husband’s sexual activities and were unaware that their actions amounted to rape.

Pelicot condemned their “cowardice” directly.

“When you enter a bedroom and see an immobile body, at what point do you choose not to act? Why didn’t you immediately report it to the authorities?”

“This trial symbolizes cowardice; that is the only way to describe it,” she stated.

The jury’s “failure to recognize abuse” illustrated how anyone can be an assaulter, even individuals who don’t perceive themselves as such, remarked Violette Perrotte, director of Le Maison des Femmes, a non-profit organization in France supporting women who have suffered violence.

“There is no singular type of victim or abuser in cases of domestic violence,” she highlighted. This trial has illustrated the range of individuals capable of committing abuse.

‘Our Family Has Been Shattered’

Prior to being contacted by law enforcement, Gisele Pelicot believed she had a happy marriage with her husband, Dominique. She thought the memory lapses and troubling symptoms she experienced were unrelated issues, making her fear she might have a brain tumor or Alzheimer’s and prompting visits to multiple doctors, as reported by the New York Times.

The truth emerged in 2020 when police arrested her husband after he was caught filming up women’s skirts at a grocery store. Investigators uncovered approximately 300 images and videos of her being violated by 72 different men on his confiscated electronic devices.

Dominique Pelicot connected with these men through Coco.gg, an anonymous chat site that was later taken down due to its involvement in various crimes, including rapes and murders.

In his defense, Dominique Pelicot admitted his guilt in court weeks prior: “I am a rapist, just like all the others here,” he declared.

Nevertheless, in his concluding remarks, he insisted he did not abuse their daughter, known as Caroline Darian, or their grandchildren, despite explicit photographs of Darian found among his belongings.

“You lack the courage to confront the truth!” Darian shouted in court. “You will live a lie until your death. You are isolated in your deceit.”

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

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

“It has been four years since my father disappeared,” Florian Pelicot, the couple’s other son, addressed the court. He expressed the hope that the court would impose a strict sentence on his father to encourage other survivors of sexual violence to come forward.

Perrotte observed that she believes this trial will have a notable impact, stressing how most rapists are typically acquainted with their victims and that ideals of a “perfect victim” or “perfect crime” do not exist. Her organization focuses on training professionals in issues related to “chemical submission,” a term describing the drugging of victims in sexual violence cases.

“The patriarchy still has quite some time left before it faces its reckoning,” she concluded.

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