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

Her husband is accused of inviting strangers to sexually assault her while she was drugged and unconscious. The trial has transformed the way France discusses sexual violence.

Taking the stand in a French court on Wednesday, Gisèle Pelicot said she was “determined to change things in this society”. Survivor of a mass rape trial that has shocked the world, Pelicot admitted…

Ms Pelicot says "shame must change sides" and has waived her right to anonymity in the hope she can give courage to other rape victims.

Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman whose husband is on trial for drugging and raping her, took the stand on Wednesday.

She tells a court she wants women who have been raped to know that "it's not for us to have shame - it's for them".

Dominique Pelicot has admitted to drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of men online to rape her while she was unconscious and 50 men are facing trial alongside him. Despite video evidence against them, at least 35 of the defendants have denied the rape charges, claiming that Dominique Pelicot tricked them into believing they were taking part in a sex game, or that Gisele Pelicot was feigning sleep. Cynthia Illouz, founder of "The Women's Voices," speaks to FRANCE 24.

The accused told the court that he slit the throats of his mother, sister, niece, and sister-in-law because their “liberal” lifestyle had damaged his marriage and also they used to always nag him.