Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.
A 72-year-old woman who recently discovered that her husband had been 'abusing her for over 10 years' has lifted the lid on the courageous reason she decided to waiver her anonymity.
Gisèle Pélicot appeared at a court in Avignon, France, earlier this week, (2 September) where her husband, 71-year-old Dominique, is on trial accused of a series of sickening crimes he is said to have enacted over a 10-year period.
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Police believe that Dominique drugged his wife using a mixture of sleeping tablets and other medication - adding the toxic substances to her meals - before inviting strangers to perform sexual acts upon her, including rape.
It is believed that over 80 individuals - whom he had allegedly reached out to online - took part in the crimes.
Prosecutors say that Dominique's crimes went undetected for over a decade, until he was arrested in 2020 for allegedly filming up women's skirts in a supermarket.
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After investigating his home, police discovered he'd recorded countless assaults on his wife, and had kept the tapes in a USB drive called 'abuses'.
Over 20,000 images of mother-of-three Gisèle being raped and abused since 2011 were found.
In sexual assault cases, the victim is entitled to automatic anonymity in the view of the press, which lasts a lifetime.
Unusually, however, Gisèle opted to waiver her anonymity from the moment her husband was arrested and instead hoped for 'complete publicity until the end'.
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Despite the case's prosecutor asking for the trial not to be made public, according to Gisèle's lawyers, she wanted people to know the truth and has since sparked mass protests across France.
As such, her request to waiver anonymity was granted by judge Roger Arata.
One of the victim's lawyers Antoine Camus explained in a statement to Agence France-Presse this week: "For the first time, she will have to live through the rapes that she endured over 10 years."
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Another solicitor added: "She wants people to know what happened to her and believes that she has no reason to hide.
"No one can imagine that my client will find any satisfaction in exposing what she has suffered. She wants this hearing to be open so that justice can be done in public.
"Whether one likes it or not, this trial goes beyond the limits of this courtroom. And going behind closed doors also means asking my client to be locked in a place with those who attacked her."
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Fifty of the men accused of assaulting Gisèle - including a former police officer, nurses, a prison guard and a local councillor - were also placed on trial this week.
Of these, several alleged perpetrators claimed they were not aware Gisèle was not a willing participant.
"We are not dealing with habitual rapists," one lawyer told the MailOnline.
"They agreed to go (to the Pelicots' house) and take their responsibilities. But they did not have the impression or at all the intention of going to rape – otherwise they wouldn't have gone."
Despite their claims, Gisèle - who was joined in court by her three children this week - says she had no recollection of the abuse she sustained in her sleep.
She only ever suspected foul play when she woke up one morning 'in a panic' after being left 'with a new haircut'.
According to another of her lawyers, she had no 'understanding how this was possible'.
"She went to her hairdresser, who told her she had been in the previous day," the solicitor explained, adding that Gisèle believed she had an illness, with her relatives suspecting Alzheimer’s disease.
Her husband's lawyer said he has 'always declared himself guilty', claiming he said: "I put her to sleep, I offered her, and I filmed."
Each of the men accused of abusing Gisèle while she was unconscious may face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty of the crimes.
The trial is set to last until December.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: Crime, News, World News, Sex and Relationships
Rhianna Benson