Queen Camilla Personally Reached Out to Gisèle Pelicot to Commend Her 'Dignity and Courage' amid Rape Trial

Mar. 15, 2025

Queen Camilla; Gisele Pelicot.Photo:Isabel Infantes - WPA Pool/Getty; Arnold Jerocki/Getty

Queen Camilla hosts the celebration of The Poppy Factory Centenary at Clarence House on February 15, 2024 in London, England. The Poppy Factory was founded after the First World War to support veterans; Gisele Pelicot poses for a portrait on December 17, 2024 in Avignon, France. A verdict is expected this week in the trial of Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband and 50 other men charged with raping her over a multiyear period, in encounters arranged by her husband while she was drugged and unconscious

Isabel Infantes - WPA Pool/Getty; Arnold Jerocki/Getty

Queen Camilahas personally reached out toGisèle Pelicotto commend her for her “extraordinary dignity and courage.”

“As a long-term supporter of survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, the Queen wrote to Madame Pelicot privately,” a royal aide toldNewsweek. “It was very much her instigation and determination to write to express support from the highest level.”

Gisele Pelicot attends the trial of her husband, Dominique Pelicot, in Avignon, France, on Sept. 16, 2024.Christophe SIMON/getty

Gisele Pelicot (C) looks on, next to her lawyer Stephane Babonneau (R), at the Avignon courthouse during the trial of her former partner Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, in Avignon, on September 16, 2024. A court in the southern town of Avignon is trying Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old retiree, for repeatedly raping and enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife in her own bed over a decade. Fifty other men, aged between 26 and 74, are also on trial for alleged involvement, in a case that has horrified France. The court proceedings, which runs until December, are open to the public at the request of Dominique Pelicot’s ex-wife and victim

Christophe SIMON/getty

Dominique Pelicot’s abusetook place over more than a decade. In addition to his own assaults, he also invited dozens of strangers into his home to violate his wife when she was drugged. In the trial, 47 more men were found guilty of rape and sentenced to 3-15 years. Another two men were found guilty of attempted rape and two more were found guilty of sexual assault.

Pelicot, 72, waived her right to anonymity during the trial stating that she wanted “shame to change sides” for abuse victims around the world.

The palace aide said that statement also resonated deeply with Queen Camilla. “As [Pelicot] rightly put it, why should she be made to feel like a victim or hide away in shame?”

“She helped highlight a very significant societal problem despite all the personal suffering she’d been through,” they continued of Camilla’s admiration.

Queen Camilla makes a speech in support of survivors of sexual assault and the relaunch of the Wash Bags Project at Buckingham Palace on May 1, 2024.Eamonn M. McCormack - Pool/Getty

Queen Camilla makes a speech as she hosts a reception recognising those who support survivors of sexual assault and the relaunch of the Wash Bags Project at Buckingham Palace on May 1, 2024 in London, England. The Wash Bags scheme provides a wash bag of toiletries, donated by Boots, to people who have been affected by rape and sexual abuse after they have undergone forensic examination.

Eamonn M. McCormack - Pool/Getty

The Queen has long been a champion of services aimed at helping victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse –using her platform to advocateon their behalf even before her husband,King Charles, became the reigning sovereign. Over the years, she has visited shelters and women’s centers around the world to meet with survivors and assess their needs.

In 2013, she started the Wash Bags project, aimed at providing survivors of sexual assault with toiletries to use following a forensic examination. The project wasrelaunched in 2024, in partnership with UK health and beauty retailer Boots.

In a 2021 speech at aWomen of the World event, Camilla condemned the “culture of silence” that fosters abusers and keeps victims from coming forward.

“After all, rapists are not born, they are constructed,” she said at the time. “And it takes an entire community — male and female — to dismantle the lies, words and actions that foster a culture in which sexual assault is seen as normal and in which it shames the victim.”

“I just want to do something about this,” Camilla says deteminedly in the trailer for the film.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com

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