Gisele Pelicot leaves the Avignon courthouse after hearing the defence’s final plea at the trial of her former partner Dominique Pelicot (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Caroline Darian, the daughter of rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, has criticised her mother in a new book. She alleges that her mother, who was raped by her husband Dominique Pelicot and subjected to further assaults by dozens of men he invited, refuses to acknowledge or listen to her own claims of being attacked by the same man.
During his trial for charges related to his wife, 72 year old Pelicot denied the allegations concerning his daughter. When asked in court if she agreed with her daughter’s claims, Gisèle declined to answer.
Pelicot has since been sentenced to 20 years in prison, but Ms Darian has been deeply affected by her mother’s “silence”. She stated: “Her silence says a lot. I thought we were a united and tight-knit clan … and I am hit by this implacable reality in the face: my mother does not want to believe me or to hear me. The pain runs right through me.”
Gisèle, from Mazan in southeastern France, received worldwide commendation for her dignity during the trial.
She waived her right to anonymity, allowing journalists to report in detail on the horrific ordeal she endured. Her daughter’s book, So That We May Remember, was published on Wednesday and reflects on Gisèle’s lack of support during the lengthy trial last autumn, reports
The Times reported that psychologists had warned Ms Darian that her relationship with her mother might not survive the trial. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
In a heart-wrenching account, Ms Darian writes: “It is an abandonment too many… It’s as though the ground opened up under my feet… I have spent four years trying to be there for my mother, cherishing the bond that counted so much for me.
“I feel alone facing a wall of desolation and no one seems to understand.”
Her father, Pelicot, a retired electrician, had invited dozens of strangers to their family home in Mazan to rape his wife over a decade. He was imprisoned and 49 other men received sentences ranging from three to 15 years for raping or sexually assaulting the woman.
An associate of Pelicot was sentenced to 12 years for raping his own wife. The Times reported that psychologists had warned Ms Darian that her relationship with her mother might not survive the trial.
Gisele Pelicot’s daughter Caroline (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
She adds in her book: “I nevertheless had a lingering hope. I was her only daughter. She could not let go of my hand and especially not in this courtroom. But I am forced to accept that that is the case.”
However, Ms Darian also praises her mother’s testimony during the trial, writing: “Those who were at the trial discovered day after day this strength of character, this rectitude, this ability not to flag.”