The News
A French court jailed Dominique Pelicot for the maximum-allowed 20 years for drugging his ex-wife Gisèle and recruiting strangers to rape her over nearly a decade in a case that has horrified the world.
Fifty other men were also found guilty of sexual crimes and handed jail sentences of between three and 15 years in jail, though analysts noted these were mostly shorter than those asked for by prosecutors.
Outside the courtroom, Gisèle Pelicot told journalists that she is thinking of her children as well as other victims and their families, as their stories are “often in the shadows,” the BBC reported. Pelicot added that she “never regretted” opening the trial and waiving her anonymity so that “society could see what was happening.”
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Gisèle Pelicot has become a feminist hero in France and beyond after she waived her right to anonymity, “refusing to be ashamed [and] standing up to her aggressors in court,” AFP reported.
The case has signaled that “shame has changed sides” in France, Le Monde wrote, as Gisèle Pelicot famously said it should.
Supporters could be found waving placards outside the courtroom as the sentence was announced.
The View From Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed Gisèle Pelicot’s bravery for demanding a public and open trial, writing in a statement on X:
“The shame must change sides. Thank you, Gisele Pelicot! You courageously went from anonymity into the public eye and fought for justice. You gave women around the world a strong voice. The shame always lies with the perpetrator.”
Notable
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Megan Clement, editor of the Impact newsletter, wrote that Gisèle Pelicot had changed the world by asking for an open trial: “She flipped the script herself, and she gave permission to others to do the same.”