Gisele Pelicot Describes Finding Love After Abuse Case

Gisele Pelicot described meeting a new partner and learning to trust again after her ex-husband’s conviction. Dominique Pelicot received a 20-year prison sentence for drugging and raping her and permitting other men to rape her while she was unconscious over nearly a decade.

The 73-year-old waived her right to anonymity and spoke at the Hay Festival on Saturday. She said she had not expected to fall in love or trust a man again, especially at her age.

Pelicot discussed her memoir A Hymn to Life during an on-stage interview with Baroness Helena Kennedy. She said life had decided otherwise after her and her partner’s paths crossed. She added that people can fall in love at any age and that she now believes everything can be allowed in life. Pelicot said she feels serene about the future of relations between men and women.

Pelicot praised her daughter Caroline Darian’s group M’endors pas, which campaigns against chemical submission. She invited Darian on stage during a standing ovation and said she was proud to be her mother. Pelicot said educating children from a young age could help men and women live together in harmony.