Gisèle Pelicot’s Memoir Launches In 22 Languages, Turning Horror Into Hope For Survivors

PARIS — Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir was released connected Tuesday successful 22 languages worldwide, sharing specifications of nan scary she went done and sending a powerful connection of dream and support to victims of intersexual abuse.

“I wanted my communicative to thief others,” Pelicot told French nationalist transmission France 5 past week up of nan merchandise of her book, “A Hymn to Life, Shame has to Change Sides.”

Pelicot recounted her communicative of endurance successful nan book and successful her first bid of interviews since nan landmark 2024 proceedings that turned her into a world icon against intersexual unit and imprisoned her husband, who drugged her truthful different men could battle her.

“Today I’m doing better, and this book allowed maine to prosecute successful self-reflection, to return banal of my life,” she said. “I had to effort to rebuild myself connected this section of ruins. Today I americium a female opinionated strong.”

Pelicot said her book is meant to present “a connection of dream to each nan women who are going done a very analyzable play successful their lives.”

The shocking lawsuit — and Pelicot’s determination to waive her anonymity and speak publically — prompted a reckoning complete rape civilization successful France and beyond, arsenic her dignity and spot impressed galore crossed nan world.

Gymnastic superstar and Olympic golden medalist Simone Biles, herself a subsister of intersexual abuse, paid tribute to Pelicot successful a connection broadcast by nan BBC.

“Gisèle has demonstrated to nan world that it’s not for victims of intersexual maltreatment to consciousness shame — it’s nan perpetrators,” Biles said. “By waiving her anonymity and refusing to consciousness shame, Gisèle paves nan measurement for different victims to travel forward.”

At nan “Des Femmes” (“Women’s”) bookstore successful Paris, respective readers were eager to bargain Pelicot’s book connected nan time of its release.

“I want to publication it,” said Cécile Megueulle, who admires Pelicot. “But I show myself that reference it will beryllium … really a small scary. The truth of not being successful her shoes but being capable to spot nan different broadside of nan mirror, really she knowledgeable it and really she managed — I don’t cognize if we tin opportunity that — to get done it.”

Selma Memic, a lawyer from Geneva, Switzerland, said: “The lawsuit was known arsenic nan ‘Pelicot case’ … and now we’re going to perceive astir ‘Gisèle’. So, that’s possibly what I’m looking for. Who is Gisèle? What are her feelings? How does she look backmost astatine it (the trial)?”

In December 2024, Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and 50 different men were convicted of sexually assaulting her betwixt 2011 and 2020 while she was nether chemic submission. He was sentenced to 20 years successful prison, while nan different defendants received sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years.

An appeals tribunal later accrued nan condemnation handed to Husamettin Dogan, a building worker who was nan only suspect who challenged his conviction.

Dominique Pelicot, whom Gisèle Pelicot had been joined to for astir 50 years, acknowledged that for years he mixed sedatives into her nutrient and portion truthful he could rape her and induce different men to do nan same.

The unprecedented proceedings exposed really online pornography, chat rooms and distorted notions of consent tin substance intersexual violence.

France passed a rule past October that defines rape and different intersexual battle arsenic immoderate non-consensual intersexual enactment successful nan aftermath of nan Pelicot case, joining galore different European nations that person akin consent-based laws, including neighboring Germany, Belgium and Spain. Until then, rape nether French rule was defined arsenic penetration aliases oral activity utilizing “violence, coercion, threat aliases surprise.”

Corbet writes for nan Associated Press. AP journalists Catherine Gaschka and Oleg Cetinic contributed to this report.