A French woman whose husband has admitted drugging her and inviting more than 80 men to rape her over the course of a decade has said she “was sacrificed on the altar of vice” and treated “like a rag doll”. Gisèle Pélicot told the court she was “never complicit”... in the sexual acts and had not pretended to be asleep - but was urged by the judge that in order to respect the presumption of innocence, it had been agreed in court not to use the word rape but “sex scene”. During court proceedings, it was revealed that one of the men is HIV positive, and he was invited by her husband Dominique to rape Gisèle more than six times. Dominique did not require the rapists to wear a condom. After a medical examination, Gisèle learned that she was carrying four sexually-transmitted diseases. “Inside me, it is a scene of devastation,” Gisèle said. “I no longer have an identity. … I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself.” Gisèle Pélicot waived her right to anonymity in order for the crimes to be made public.show more

She can’t even call it rape. This makes me want to cry.

The courageous woman was betrayed in the worst way imaginable. A judge is attempting to censor her to protect the presumption of innocence for ‘monsters’ who took advantage of a helpless and drugged woman. She should speak freely without any legal constraints 🙏🏻 May she heal and receive medical treatment, support and love in her life.

I want France to award her the Legion d’honneur for waiving her right to anonymity in order to publicly shame all those despicable men. Everyone needs to see their faces and remember their names. What an incredible woman she is.

I'm so gutted for her. She is so brave though. So brave and strong to do this. I wish I could give her a hug. I am in awe of her strength in these horrific circumstances. Her and her children. I hope all those predators get what's coming to them.

Such a brave woman. I hope she can find some peace. I wonder how many other women this is happening to, women who have no idea what's going on.

I don’t want to see the face of the victim. I want to see the name and face of every man who raped her on the front page of every newspaper in France. Never let them know peace.

why do the men get to hide their faces or are the journalists letting them do it esp as a journo was one of the rapists?

This woman is so strong & brave, I'm in awe of her courage and selflessness to waive her anonymity & publicize the details of the brutal horror she's been put through. Through her actions, she reminds us all that the shame belongs to the abusers, not the victims!

Sex without consent is rape. How dare they try to police her speaking truthfully about what happened to her.

She should not be compelled by anyone to call this anything other than what it was, multiple rapes. It’s absolutely vile that the Judge instructs her to refer to them as ‘sex scenes’!!