Weekend Woman's Hour: Gisèle Pelicot and Mother Courage

Gisèle Pelicot's decision to waive her anonymity and testify in the largest rape trial in French history has become a global symbol of resistance against patriarchal violence. Her memoir, A Hymn to Life, reveals a harrowing decade of drugging and repeated sexual assault by her husband, who invited 46 men to abuse her while she was unconscious. Yet Pelicot's story transcends trauma—she reframes her courage not as bravery, but as a deep, determined fight for societal change. Her actions led to a landmark legal shift in France, expanding the definition of rape to include lack of consent, and inspired a new generation of survivors. Meanwhile, in London, the UK's first co-housing community for women over 50, Newground, proves that intentional, female-led living can foster safety, solidarity, and autonomy in later life. On a different note, actor Hannah Murray recounts her descent into psychosis after seeking 'magical healing' for bipolar disorder, revealing how her search for transcendence led to a psychotic episode and hospitalization—yet ultimately became the foundation of her raw, powerful memoir, The Make-Believe. In a parallel story, medical student Charlotte Buttercase leads a movement of 32 women at Manchester University who have endured relentless anonymous sexual harassment, exposing a systemic culture of entitlement in medical training.