“I am not a heroine, but I have awakened consciences.” With this phrase Giséle Pelicot presented in Spain last March her memoir. Pelicot, who received the French Legion of Honor and was decorated by the Spanish Government for her achievements in the fight against sexual violence, referred to the moment she decided to hold the public trial of her case, which has made her a global reference.
Now, this wish to make public her story has led her to travel to Copenhagen, where she was welcomed by Queen Mary of Denmark. The wife of King Frederik opened the doors of her home at the Fredensborg Palace to hear firsthand her heart-wrenching story. It was recounted at the public trial: her husband, with whom she had been married for almost 50 years, used chemical submission to render her unconscious, and more than 50 men sexually assaulted her. Gisèle Pelicot (73) discovered the assaults thanks to videos seized by the police in November 2020.
When she appeared before the Avignon court, Pelicot explained that she refused to testify behind closed doors “so that all raped women stop feeling ashamed.” The 51 men accused were sentenced to terms ranging from three to fifteen years, and her husband is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, the maximum penalty.
In a post shared on the Danish royal household’s social networks, it was noted that Queen Mary was “very impressed” by the “stoic calm” that Pelicot displayed as she valiantly fought against her attackers. Since 2007, the Australian has chaired the Mary Foundation, which has as one of its main objectives to combat domestic violence and to support both abused women and their children.
The Queen Mary and Gisèle Pelicot
The two women chatted informally in the Chancellery of Fredensborg Palace, the royal family’s second residence. The queen Mary’s communications team highlighted that they spoke about the international best-seller sales success of her memoirs, published in Spanish under the title A Hymn to Life: My Story. And also about how her day-to-day life is now and how she has managed to use her platform for the benefit of others.
Mary of Denmark and Gisèle Pelicot, during their talk.
“The incredibly powerful story of Gisèle Pelicot and her courage to tell it openly has made a great impression on the Queen,” said the text accompanying a series of photographs of the two. “Also the stoic calm she has shown throughout the process, as well as her dignified voice, has sparked several public debates and a deeper understanding of sexual violence against women.”
After traveling across Europe to promote her autobiography, Gisèle Pelicot has confessed that settling on the French island of Ré, where she currently lives, was key to her case. “It helped me in the reconstruction: the sea, the forest, long walks, the music, the chocolate and then, receiving help. I have not been alone, I have been surrounded by friends and psychologists. This is a mandatory step; you cannot do it alone,” she said during her visit to Spain.
Her meeting with Queen Camilla
Her recent meeting with Mary of Denmark has not been the only one Gisèle Pelicot has had with royalty. Last February was Queen Camilla who invited her to tea at her London residence, Clarence House. Then the wife of Charles III stated that she was “speechless” at the atrocities the French woman endured.
“I have met many survivors of rape and sexual abuse. I never thought that anything could shock me again, but your case left me speechless,” Queen Camilla told Pelicot, according to BBC reports at the time. The Queen of England, who, like her Danish counterpart, has made supporting survivors of rape and domestic violence a priority of her royal work, added that she had read Pelicot’s memoirs in just two days.
