Pelicot, whose husband and 50 other men raped her repeatedly over a decade, said that she and her partner have been "putting our lives forward"
Credit: Mark Doyle/Michael Priest Photography
NEED TO KNOW
- In November 2020, Gisèle Pelicot learned that her husband of nearly 50 years had been drugging her at night and inviting more than 50 men into their home to rape her
- Nearly six years later, she shared that meeting and “falling in love” with her new partner at 73 years old has been a “gift from life”
- “Life is going to give us a lot of challenges, and it’s going to put us to the test … It’s in all of us to try to overcome them,” Pelicot said while speaking at 92NY
Gisèle Pelicot is living proof that love can be found in the darkest of moments.
Almost six years after she learned that her husband of nearly 50 years had been drugging her at night for more than a decade and inviting more than 50 men into her home to rape her — all of whom have been found guilty of their crimes — Pelicot, 73, believes more than ever that it is important to always have hope.
“Life is going to give us a lot of challenges and it's going to put us to the test,” she said during a talk hosted by 92NY, during which Mariska Hargitay and Marisa Tomei read excerpts from Pelicot's latest memoir, A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides. “We have these resources within us. It's in all of us to try to overcome them.”
“The very fact that I'm sitting here in front of you today and talking about this, I'm concrete proof that this is true,” she added.
Credit: Mark Doyle/Michael Priest Photography
Since navigating a four-month-long open trial and becoming a hero to other sexual violence victims, Pelicot went on to express that she's received a “real gift from life” by having the “good fortune to meet and fall in love” with another man at 73 years old.
“We are putting our lives forward,” she said. “And I think if I can convey anything, I wanna convey that idea that you need to have this hope, you need to have this idea that it's there and we have to work towards it and we have to try to find a way to get it.”
Beyond hope, Pelicot shared that she also found the feeling of community especially important during the 2024 trial. After all, she was seeing the dozens of women waiting for her outside the courthouse and supporting her from the overflow room each day.
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Credit: Mark Doyle/Michael Priest Photography
“I just was so amazed,” she said. “They gave me strength, and I really had no idea what the full scope of this trial would be, how long it would be, what it would entail. And they were there all the time to give me support and letters.”
“It gave me strength and it also made me realize that we are all connected on that level,” she continued. "This is something that was very, very good for me to hear. It was important for me to hear, but I think it's also important for them to hear too.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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