“That’s why I fought this battle,” said the woman, addressing her children and grandchildren, after the verdict of the Avignon court hearing the case of her mass rape, over ten years, by her husband, , and dozens of strangers.
“, said Gisele Pelicot. As she said, this trial was for her children and grandchildren “because they are the future and that’s why I also fought this battle.”
Dominique Pelicot was sentenced by French justice to the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for raping his wife. Another 47 defendants were found guilty.
G. Pelicot: “I didn’t regret “opening the doors” to the trial”
Gisele Pelicot thanked her supporters, saying that their statements moved her and gave her the strength to watch the trial every day, as well as the victims’ association for their help, the journalists who followed the trial throughout its duration and the her lawyers.
She said she did not regret the moment she waived her right to anonymity and “opened the doors” to the trial so society could see what happened. “I have confidence,” he said, “in our ability collectively to find a better future in which men and women can live harmoniously together with mutual respect.”
