Mass rape survivor Gisele Pelicot tells her story in new memoir

DW News · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A last breakfast in her small house in Mazan, southern France. That November morning in 2020, Gisele Pelicot could have no idea that her life as she had known it was about to end. She had an appointment — a summons to a local police station. Two months earlier, her husband, Dominique Pelicot, had been arrested. He'd been caught filming under women's skirts in a supermarket. A one-off incident, he'd sworn. He'd promised to attend therapy. His wife intended to support him. When a police officer led Gisele Pelicot into a separate room, she had no idea she would not see her husband again outside a courtroom. An officer showed her images of a woman being sexually assaulted. At first, she did not realize the woman in the photos was herself. Investigators discovered over 20,000 images of non-consensual sex. For 10 years, Dominique Pelicot repeatedly drugged his wife and, through the dark web, recruited men from their neighborhood to rape her while she was unconscious. He committed this abuse at least 200 times.Gisele Pelicot celebrated as feminist hero in FranceTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Shame has to change sides' The trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 of his accomplices — all those who could be identified — took place in fall 2024.Gisele Pelicot emerged as a global feminist figure. Weeks earlier, she had decided the trial would be public, and should have a face: hers. The horrific videos were to be shown in open court. "Shame has to change sides," she said, holding perpetrators and enablers accountable and challenging a culture of blaming survivors. Throughout the three-and-a-half-month trial, Gisele — by then divorced — was met daily by growing crowds of women who cheered her courage. Media outlets around the world covered both her resilience and the humiliations defense lawyers attempted to impose, as well as the disturbing details of the abuse she endured. Gisele Pelicot talks to journalists after the verdict in the trial for Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-accused in 2024Image: Manon Cruz/REUTERSThe proceedings also revealed that the main defendant secretly filmed his two daughters-in-law in the shower and kept nude photos of his daughter while she slept, wearing underwear that was not hers. Whether she, too, was assaulted remains unclear. Authorities are now investigating him on suspicion of murder. Gisele Pelicot speaking for herself Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison — the maximum penalty for rape in France. All 50 accomplices also received lengthy prison terms. What goes through the mind of a woman who has survived such an ordeal, whose most intimate aspects of life were revealed by the light of day, and who has now begun her life anew? Though she has legally returned to her birthname, Gisele Guillou, she published her memoirs under the name she is still publicly recognized with. "A Hymn to Life: Shame Must Change Sides," was written with journalist Judith Perrignon. The book is being released simultaneously in 22 languages. In everything previously written about her, the 73-year-old says she never saw herself represented well. 'A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides' has been launched in 22 languages worldwideImage: Bodley HeadShe recounts in her own words her childhood, the early loss of her mother and meeting the man she would later marry — whom she placed her trust in. She writes about raising her three children while becoming more professionally successful than her husband, a distinction that had never seem to impact her life. Then the shock: Learning that same man acted out his most depraved fantasies on her, routinely sedating her with powerful medication and risking severe side effects — memory loss, exhaustion, pelvic infections. He accepted it all. In court, he refused to view the videos and photos again. 'I'm still able to trust others' In the book, Gisele Pelicot explains why she clung for so long to memories of a happy marriage, even sending fresh laundry to her husband in prison. Habit and care played a part, but above all, she writes, she wanted to understand — a need her children could not comprehend and were resentful of. The trial, the intense public attention and the family secrets laid bare placed a severe strain on her relationships with her children and even among the siblings themselves. The book also goes some way towards an explanation — an understanding of how she coped with all that happened. Ultimately, Gisele Pelicot sees herself as the victor over her husband. She has even found new love. "I didn't die," she writes. "I'm still able to trust others." More than five years have passed since Dominique Pelicot's crimes came to light. His ex-wife has reclaimed her life — and rediscovered her joy in it. This article was originally written in German.