It is difficult to judge an interview with Gisèle Pelicot by normal standards. To begin with the straightforward part: Victoria Derbyshire is the ideal interviewer. The co-presenter of Newsnight possesses a kind of steely warmth that aligns well with the innate dignity of Mme Pelicot—as she is referred to throughout—as they walk unflinchingly through her horrific story.
Her “descent into hell” began on November 2, 2020, when local police called her and her husband, Dominique Pelicot, to the station. They believed it was related to his recent arrest for secretly taking pictures under the skirts of three women at a supermarket. It was not. During that investigation, they had discovered on his laptop thousands upon thousands of videos and photographs, accumulated over a decade, showing his wife unconscious and being raped by strangers.
They showed Mme Pelicot a handful of images. She barely recognized herself, dressed in underwear she did not own, and she did not recognize the men. “Something exploded inside me,” she tells Derbyshire. She did not put a name to what she had seen until many hours later, when she was at home and told a friend: “Dominique raped me and had me raped.” He had arranged for her to be raped by at least 70 men. As Derbyshire notes in a piece to camera at the start of the program, with the names of the convicted filling the screen, they were drawn from within a 30-mile radius of their home in Mazan, the tiny, beautiful Provençal town where they had retired some years earlier. Fifty-two men—plus Mme Pelicot’s husband—were identified by police, and after a three-month trial, most were convicted of aggravated rape, two of sexual assault, and two of attempted rape. Dominique received the maximum sentence of 20 years.
Derbyshire’s questioning is not blunt, but it is direct. It would be an insult to Mme Pelicot and her proven ability to survive unthinkable trauma to be anything else. She famously waived her right to anonymity on the grounds that “shame must change sides”; it belongs not to the rape victim but to the rapists. It is often said that she has become a feminist icon as a result, but it is more specific than that. She has become a repository of hope and—though the word has become devalued in the age of Instagram—an inspiration to women across the globe, including rape victims who have not yet brought charges, or who belong to the estimated 30% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence, overwhelmingly at the hands of men (in March 2025, the ONS reported that 98% of victims stated their attacker was male).
Perhaps counterintuitively, it is powerful to hear Mme Pelicot explain to Derbyshire how her feelings and thoughts evolved regarding anonymity. Initially, she wanted the usual closed hearing. “I certainly didn’t want to be seen,” she says, feeling that “the filthy stain stays with you for life.” But the four years she “carried that shame” between the discovery of her abuse and the trial gave her time to reflect and conclude that such “self-inflicted pain… meant that victims were being punished twice. And I thought that if I could overcome it, all victims could do it too. I’m sure of it. They must not lose confidence.”
Sitting perfectly calm and effortlessly poised, even when occasionally moved to tears, even when explaining how her husband had to mix muscle relaxants with sedatives so she would “slacken and dilate” enough not to be in pain the next day from what the men did to her unconscious body (and so she would not realize something was wrong), Mme Pelicot cuts an extraordinary figure. One can only gaze in awe.I admire her strength and grace, and I deeply hope she can rebuild her relationship with her daughter, Caroline—another suspected victim of Dominique, who is also under investigation for the attempted rape of a woman in 1999 (which he has admitted) and the murder of another in 1991 (which he denies). But behind every discussion of the Pelicot case, a troubling question lingers: How many people are following this story not with horror, but with a kind of fascination? How many men are thinking, “I wish I could…” or “I could do that…”? Is it morbid or realistic to ask such questions? Last month, former Tory councillor Philip Young pleaded guilty to nearly 50 counts of drugging, raping, and sexually assaulting his ex-wife, Joanne, who has waived her anonymity. Another man has also pleaded guilty to raping her. It’s hard not to think about the area around you and wonder. Gisèle Pelicot: The Newsnight Interview aired on BBC Two and is available on iPlayer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the review titled Gisle Pelicot The Newsnight Interview review one can only admire her strength and grace
General Beginner Questions
1 What is this review about
This is a review of a television interview It discusses Gisle Pelicots appearance on the BBCs Newsnight program focusing on her composure and dignity during a likely difficult or highpressure conversation
2 Who is Gisle Pelicot
Gisle Pelicot is a public figure who was interviewed on Newsnight a prestigious and rigorous BBC current affairs program
3 What is Newsnight
Newsnight is a longrunning BBC Two television program featuring indepth analysis interviews and debates on the days top news stories and political events Its known for its tough forensic interviewing style
4 What is the main point of the review
The core point is that the reviewer was deeply impressed by Pelicots strength and grace under pressure during the interview suggesting she handled challenging questions with poise and resilience
5 Is the review positive or negative
The title and phrase one can only admire indicate a strongly positive review It praises Pelicots performance and character during the interview
Advanced Analytical Questions
6 What does strength and grace likely refer to in this context
Strength likely refers to her intellectual fortitude clarity of argument and emotional resilience when facing tough or potentially hostile questioning Grace suggests she maintained politeness dignity and composure without becoming defensive or aggressive
7 What kind of topics might have been discussed in the interview
While the review title doesnt specify interviews on Newsnight typically cover significant political social or cultural issues It could involve a personal scandal a political controversy a humanitarian crisis or the promotion of a policy or bookany topic that would invite intense scrutiny
8 Why is an interviews performance reviewed separately from the news itself
The review is analyzing the media event and public communication as much as the content Its assessing how effectively a person communicates their message under the unique pressure of a major news interview which
