So much respect. This woman carries the weight of all of us who have experienced sexual assault and rape. She is to be honored as a leader among us. A living legend.
Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her “very difficult ordeal” after 51 men were all found guilty Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that turned her into a feminist hero, expressing support for other victims of sexual violence whose cases don’t get such attention and “whose stories remain untold.”
“I want you to know that 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 in the shocking case that stunned France and spurred a national reckoning about the blight of rape culture.
As campaigners against sexual violence protested outside the courthouse, the 72-year-old expressed “my profound gratitude towards the people who supported me.”
“Your messages moved me deeply, and they gave me the strength to come back, every day, and survive through these long daily hearings,” she said. “This trial was a very difficult ordeal.”
Pelicot — now an icon for many women in France and beyond after her courageous demand that all the evidence be heard in open court — also said she was thinking of her grandchildren after enduring the more than three months of hearings that prosecuted the rapes and other abuse inflicted on her by her now ex-husband and his more than four dozen accomplices over nearly a decade.
“It’s also for them that I led this fight,” she said of her grandchildren. “I wanted all of society to be a witness to the debates that took place here. I never regretted making this decision. I have trust in our capacity to collectively project ourselves toward a future where all, women and men, can live in harmony, with respect and mutual understanding. Thank you.”
The court sentenced her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to rape her while she was unconscious, knocked out by tranquilizers he hid in her food and drink.
The sentence was the maximum possible under French law. He was declared guilty on all charges. At age 72, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. He won’t be eligible to request early release until at least two-thirds of the sentence has been served.
Dominique Pelicot and the 50 other defendants each stood up, one after the other, as chief judge Roger Arata read out first the verdicts and then the sentences — a process that took over an hour.
“You are therefore declared guilty of aggravated rape on the person of Mme. Gisèle Pelicot,” the judge said as he worked his way through the long list of names.
Gisèle Pelicot faced the defendants in the courtroom, sometimes nodding her head as the verdicts were announced.
Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said she would consider an appeal, but also expressed hope that Gisèle Pelicot would find solace in the rulings.
“I wanted Mrs. Pelicot to be able to emerge from these hearings in peace, and I think that the verdicts will contribute to this relief for Mrs. Pelicot,” she said.
Of the 50 accused of rape, just one was acquitted but was instead found guilty of aggravated sexual assault. Another man was also found guilty on the sexual assault charge he was tried for — meaning all 51 of the defendants were found guilty in one way or another...
WrongfullyIncarnated on December 19th, 2024 at 13:26 UTC »
So much respect. This woman carries the weight of all of us who have experienced sexual assault and rape. She is to be honored as a leader among us. A living legend.
Spartan2470 on December 19th, 2024 at 15:08 UTC »
According to here:
Eve_N_Starr on December 19th, 2024 at 16:36 UTC »
THIS is Person of the Year…if not the century. Bravery personified ❤️