Gisèle Pelicot 'never regretted' opening mass rape trial
Gisèle Pelicot's statement outside court in full
(33 minutes later)
Gisèle Pelicot: 'I never regretted decision to make trial public'
Gisèle Pelicot: 'I never regretted decision to make trial public'
Gisèle Pelicot said that despite a "very difficult ordeal" she had "never regretted" opening the doors of a trial that saw her ex-husband jailed for drugging her and recruiting strangers to rape her.
Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband Dominique Pelicot has been jailed for drugging her and recruiting strangers to rape her. He stood trial alongside 50 other men, 46 of whom were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape, and two of sexual assault.
Outside a courthouse in Avignon, France, on Thursday, Ms Pelicot said she waived her right to anonymity "so society could see what was happening".
Outside court Gisèle Pelicot gave a statement - here it is in full.
The 72-year-old's ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, was earlier sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape.
"This trial was a very difficult ordeal. 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. I also think of all the other families affected by this tragedy.
Dominique Pelicot stood accused alongside 50 other men, 46 of whom were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape, and two of sexual assault.
"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.
In a brief appearance outside of court on Thursday, Ms Pelicot made a short statement in which she said she respected the court and the decision it had made.
"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 wanted to open the doors of this trial last September so that society could see what was happening - I have never regretted this decision," she said.
"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.
"I have confidence now in our capacity collectively to find a better future in which men and women alike can live harmoniously together with respect and mutual understanding."
"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.
She thanked her family and her lawyers, and said she was now thinking of the "unrecognised victims whose stories often remain in the shadows".
"I wanted, by opening the doors of this trial on September 2, that society could take hold of the debates that took place there.
She said: "In this moment, my first thoughts are with my three children David, Caroline and Florian. I am also thinking about my grandchildren because they are the future and it is also for them that I fought this battle."
"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."
For almost a decade, Ms Pelicot was unknowingly given sedatives by her ex-husband, who admitted to raping her and inviting men he had recruited online to have sex with her in her bed at home while she was unconscious and unaware.
Although Dominique Pelicot admitted the charges against him, many of the other men on trial denied what they did was rape.
Most of the 50 came from towns and villages in a 50km (30 mile) radius of the Pelicots' own village of Mazan.
Among them were firefighters, lorry drivers, soldiers, security guards, a journalist and a DJ.
Ms Pelicot has attended almost every day of the trial, appearing at the court in her sunglasses just before nine o'clock.
Her decision to waive her anonymity is highly unusual, but she has stood firm at every moment.
"I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too," she said earlier in the trial.
But she has been clear that behind her facade of strength "lies a field of ruins" and despite the widespread acclaim for what she has done, she is a reluctant hero.
"She keeps repeating, 'I am normal,' she does not want to be considered as an icon," her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau said.
"Women generally have a strength in them that they can't even imagine and that they have to trust themselves. That's her message."
