New Beginnings on Île de Ré
Gisèle Pelicot enjoys invigorating beach walks in any weather at her home on Île de Ré off France’s Atlantic coast. She plays loud classical music, savors fine chocolate, and sets the breakfast table each evening to start her mornings positively. “It’s my way of putting myself in a good mood when I wake up: the cups are out already, I just need to put the kettle on,” she explains.
Among her prized possessions sits a box of letters from around the world, sent to her name and former Provence village address. These arrived during the late 2024 Avignon trial, where she waived anonymity to symbolize courage against her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and dozens of men he drugged and raped her over nearly a decade.
The Hidden Abuse
Dominique Pelicot crushed sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs into her mashed potatoes, coffee, or ice cream. In an online chatroom named “Without her knowledge,” he recruited men to assault her unconscious body in their Mazan home, a yellow house with blue shutters. “I’m looking for a pervert accomplice to abuse my wife who’s been put to sleep,” read one of his messages.
The public trial, which Pelicot demanded, stunned global audiences, heightened awareness of drug-facilitated rape—known as “chemical submission” in France—and prompted supportive letters from women worldwide sharing similar experiences.
Finding Love Again
Now 73, Pelicot discusses her letters at her literary agent’s Paris office, accompanied by new partner Jean-Loup, a retired Air France steward. They appear joyful. After police revealed the 2020 upskirting arrest led to discoveries of her sedation and rapes, she retreated to France’s west coast with two suitcases and family bulldog Lancôme.
Local walks led to friendships, including one introducing Jean-Loup, widowed after caring for his wife through a neurological illness. “Neither of us had ever thought we’d fall in love again… We couldn’t have foreseen that. And we’re really happy today,” she says. “Hope is allowed. Even for women who are not necessarily victims of violence… You can love again.”
During the trial, they ritually opened letters near Avignon. “Each time, on reading them, tears would flow… I think there are some that I still haven’t opened… But I’ll keep them for ever.”
Memoir and Early Life
A former logistics manager at France’s state electricity company and grandmother of seven, Pelicot launches an international tour for her memoir A Hymn to Life, focused on hope and introspection. Born in 1952 in a German garrison town, she recalls her mother’s hidden brain tumor and death at age nine.
“For me, she was sleeping. But when I saw my father close her eyes… he was really devastated by grief,” she remembers. A verbally abusive stepmother followed, but at 19, she met shy electrician Dominique, envisioning mutual healing from troubled families.
Long-term sleep issues stemmed from losses, associating darkness with death. Post-drugging—which experts deemed potentially lethal—she now sleeps peacefully, accepting mortality.
Undetected Symptoms and Deception
From around 2011, Pelicot suffered memory blackouts, fearing tumors or Alzheimer’s, plus gynecological issues—all while unknowingly drugged for assaults. Doctors, often with her supportive husband present, dismissed concerns as anxiety.
The mix of prescription drugs, advised online by a former nurse, included muscle relaxants for positioning. “It was really a kind of general anaesthetic… all done with drugs you could have to hand in a medicine cabinet at home,” she notes. He undressed, abused, and redressed her meticulously.
Their Provence retirement seemed idyllic: poolside games, family visits. “He was loved by everyone… That’s what is so terrifying,” Pelicot reflects, noting odd incidents like discarded odd-tasting cocktails or unfounded accusations met with tears, leading to her self-doubt.
Trial Revelations and Societal Impact
Pelicot insists public trials expose crimes and systemic survivor mistreatment. All 51 men were convicted of rape, attempted rape, or assault—a victory. Viewing “Abuse” videos proved harrowing: “When you see that body… treated as it is being treated… I put myself at a distance from that sedated woman.”
Accused men, from soldiers to nurses, denied intent, claiming consent games; some high-fived outside court. “They were so casual… as if they were there for snatching a handbag,” she says. “It was the trial of cowardice and denial.”
Character witnesses, including police for one perpetrator, highlighted patriarchal denial. Daily female supporter applause sustained her. “It carried me.” Shame, she argues, must shift to perpetrators.
Family Toll and Ongoing Probes
The case strained family ties; Dominique secretly imaged their daughter Caroline and sons’ wives. Caroline, 46, alleges past drugging and abuse, denied by him. “Caroline feels certain her father sedated her… She’s in great suffering,” Pelicot empathizes. Families rebuild separately.
She plans a prison visit for answers: “Why did you betray us like this?” Past 1990s incidents, including a denied 1991 rape-murder, remain under investigation; she recalls his tearful returns but no evidence.
Some 20+ unidentified assailants remain free, raising copycat fears amid global parallels.
Legacy and Recovery
The trial spurred consent law reforms and discussions on drug-rape. “You have to change mentalities… It’s about education—respect and kindness,” Pelicot urges. Men and women thank her publicly.
Future talks target law students on survivor dignity; defense tactics humiliated her. A prior unpunished upskirting fine enabled escalation; a 2020 security guard’s vigilance and officer’s probe halted it.
Now thriving—memory restored, health monitored post-STDs—Pelicot comforted a weeping trial observer: “I needed her to be OK too.” Her resilience traces to childhood stoicism: “I built myself up as a little tin soldier of joy.”
A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot, translated by Natasha Lehrer and Ruth Diver, is published by Bodley Head.
