Gisèle expressed her desire for women who have experienced sexual assault to understand that “it’s not for us to have shame – it’s for them” in front of the court in Avignon.
“If Madame Pelicot did it, I can do it too,” I want every woman who has been raped to say. She made reference to her demand for an open trial and the showing of the footage of the alleged rapes when she remarked, “I don’t want them to be ashamed any longer.”
Gisèle, 72, was taking the stand after her legal team asked that she be given an opportunity to comment on the testimony and material that had been presented thus far during the trial.
She claimed to have seen several defendants’ wives, mothers, and sisters testify that the accused were “exceptional men” over the past few weeks.
That’s just like the person I had at home,” she said. However, a rapist is not someone you encounter late at night in a dark parking lot. He is also present among friends and relatives.
She claimed to be “completely destroyed” and that she would need to rebuild herself. “I’m not sure whether my entire life will do it.
