'We share the same fight', Gisèle Pelicot says after ex-husband found guilty in rape trial
Gisèle Pelicot has said she thought of her grandchildren during the drugging-and-rape trial that turned her into a feminist hero.
She said after 51 men, including her ex-husband, were all found guilty on Thursday of rape or sexual offences, that the ordeal was “very difficult” and she expressed support for other victims of sexual violence.
“We share the same fight,” she said in her first words after the court in the southern French city of Avignon handed down prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years. She had waived her right to anonymity.
"I think first of all of my three children, David, Caroline and Florian. I also think of my grandchildren because they are the future and it is also for them that I have led this fight, as well as my daughters-in-law Aurore and Céline," Ms Pelicot said, "I also think of all the other families affected by this tragedy."
"Finally, I think of the unrecognized victims whose stories often remain in the shadows. I want you to know that we share the same fight.
"I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the people who supported me throughout this ordeal. Your testimonies have upset me and I have drawn from them the strength to come back every day. Long days of hearings."
"I also thank the Victims' Aid Association for our unwavering support. It has been invaluable to me. To all the journalists who have followed me and followed this case since its inception. I wish to express my gratitude for the faithful, respectful and dignified treatment in which they reported daily on these hearings.
"To my lawyers, finally, all the gratitude and esteem that I have for them for having accompanied me at each stage of this painful journey.
"I wanted, by opening the doors of this trial on September 2, that society could take hold of the debates that took place there.
"I have never regretted this decision. I now have confidence in our ability to collectively seize a future in which each woman and man can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding. I thank you."
Ms Pelicot added after the speech, to a reporter: "I respect the court and the decision of the verdict."
The court sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to rape her while she was unconscious, in abuse that lasted nearly a decade.
The sentence against Pelicot was the maximum possible under French law. He was declared guilty of all charges against him.
At age 72, it could mean that he spends the rest of his life in prison. He will not be eligible to ask for early release until at least two-thirds of the sentence has been served.
Of the 50 others accused of rape, just one was acquitted but was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault.
Another man was also found guilty on the sexual assault charge that he was tried for – meaning all 51 of the defendants were found guilty in one way or another.
The shocking case stunned France and spurred a national reckoning about the blight of rape culture.