Gisèle Pelicot says rape horror carried out by her husband 'completely destroyed' her life

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, said she doesn't know if she will ever "understand" her husband's actions as she took the stand in the harrowing mass rape trial for the first time

Gisèle Pelicot said she is "completely destroyed" and will have to rebuild her life as she took the stand for the first time in the horrific mass rape trial of her husband and 50 other men.

Dominique Pelicot is accused of drugging and raping his wife and inviting dozens of other men to rape her while she was unconscious.

The 72-year-old has urged other rape victims to come forward without feeling ashamed, as she said: "It's not for us to have shame - it's for them." Gisèle said a rapist "is not just someone you meet in a dark car park late at night" but "can also be found in the family, among friends."

Talking about how the harrowing case has affected her, the woman said she feels "completely destroyed" and added she doesn't know if her "whole life will be enough to understand." While taking the stand, Gisèle also addressed her former husband in person.

She said: "I wish I could still call him Dominique. We lived together for 50 years, I was a happy, fulfilled woman. You were a caring, attentive husband, and I never doubted you. We shared laughter and tears."

The victim's husband has admitted he recruited men online to rape Gisèle over the course of a decade, while she was under the effect of sedatives and sleeping pills. In court, the victim also said she felt "betrayed" by her husband and said that whenever she was suffering from health issues, she felt lucky to have her husband by her side.

However, it later emerged that the problems she was experiencing were connected to the drugs he was giving her. She told the court: "I am trying to understand how this man, who to me was perfect, could have done this. How can he have betrayed me at this point? How could you let these strangers into my bedroom?

"I want to say to him: I've always tried to lift you higher, towards the light. You chose the darkest depths of human nature. You're the one who made this choice."

The unprecedented trial in France is exposing how pornography, chatrooms and men's disdain for or hazy understanding of consent is fuelling rape culture. Last year, French authorities registered 114,000 victims of sexual violence, including more than 25,000 reported rapes.

But experts say most rapes go unreported due to a lack of tangible evidence. About 80 per cent of women don't press charges, and 80 per cent of the ones who do see their case dropped before it is investigated.