French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to Gisèle Pelicot for the strength she showed during the gang rape trial of her husband and 50 other men.
Describing her as a pioneer for women, he said “her dignity and courage moved and inspired France and the world.”
Her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, 72, was sentenced to a maximum 20 years in prison for aggravated rape, after confessing to drugging her for nearly a decade and recruiting dozens of men to rape her as she lay comatose in her bed.
After 50 other men received lesser sentences, Gisèle Pelicot said the trial had been a difficult ordeal, but she believed in a future where women and men could “live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding.
It was her decision to waive her anonymity and open the trial to the public that brought global attention to the issues of rape and drug-induced sexual assault.
Judges in Avignon, southern France, found all 51 defendants aged 27 to 74 guilty, but Gisèle Pelicot's lawyer said Friday that “no sentence will ruin her life.”
His three children were reportedly disappointed that many of the sentences were shorter than those requested by prosecutors. They ranged from three to 15 years, instead of the maximum of 18 years sought by prosecutors.
Forty-one of the men were immediately sent to prison, according to reports. Many people found guilty will likely appeal their convictions.
Dominique Pelicot's lawyer said he had been “somewhat stunned” by his 20-year prison sentence and would decide whether to appeal in the coming days. Judges say he will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Campaigners against sexual violence have stood outside the court throughout the trial and hope it could lead to reform of France's rape laws and change the debate over rape culture and sexual assault provoked by rape. drug.
“Shame changes sides” became one of the slogans of the affair and, a sign of the importance of the trial, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz thanked Gisèle Pelicot for giving women around the world “a strong voice “.
“The shame always lies with the perpetrator,” Scholz added.
One of her lawyers, Antoine Camus, told France Info radio on Friday that the trial would serve as a “building block” and that by making the proceedings public, Gisèle Pelicot had wanted to allow society to “become aware of the issue”. [the issues] and ask the right questions.
The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun Pivet, declared that a taboo had been broken: “The world is no longer the same thanks to you.”
Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal hoped the mass rape trial would send a “shockwave” through every young boy's education – “because this is where the fight for equality and respect begins” .
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