France rape trial: Gisele Pelicot calls for a future with 'respect and mutual understanding' between men and women

Gisele Pelicot has spoken after her ex-husband was among 51 men sentenced for a series of rapes and sex attacks against her.

Following the trial in Avignon, southern France, she said: "This case was a very difficult test for me.

"I'm thinking first and foremost of my three children [and] my grandchildren because they are the future... for them, I wanted to really put this struggle forward.

"I'd like to express my gratitude, my deepest gratitude to all the individuals who have supported me throughout this... this really gave me strength to come back day after day for this long trial."

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She said she was "thinking about all the other families affected by this case" including other victims of sexual violence.

"You must know you share my struggle," she said.

Commenting on her decision to waive her right to anonymity she said she wanted "to ensure that society could actually see what was happening and I never have regretted this decision".

"I now have faith in our capacity to collectively take hold of a future in which everybody, women, men, can live together in harmony, in respect and mutual understanding," she added.

Her former husband Dominique Pelicot, 72, received 20 years - the maximum sentence available for aggravated rape.

He admitted drugging and raping her and inviting dozens of strangers he met online to do the same at their home.

The majority of the 50 other men were found guilty of aggravated rape and were jailed for between three and 15 years.

Crowds cheer court verdicts

Ms Pelicot looked directly at every defendant as they stood in the court and were found guilty, then sentenced.

When asked about the sentences handed out today she responded: "I respect the courts and their decision."

There were huge cheers among her supporters outside the court when the first guilty verdicts were announced and then again when Ms Pelicot emerged to greet crowds, who shouted "Merci!".

Read more from Sky News:
Gisele Pelicot: Married to a monster
Sons face 'devil' father in court

The three-month trial has sent shockwaves across France but also turned Ms Pelicot into a feminist icon.

She said she was fighting for "all those people around the world, women and men, who are victims of sexual violence".

After waiving her right to anonymity - so the trial could be heard in public - Ms Pelicot's face has become one of the most recognisable of the year.

It has been graffitied on walls, held on placards at demonstrations and emblazoned on the front cover of Vogue magazine's German edition.

(c) Sky News 2024: France rape trial: Gisele Pelicot calls for a future with 'respect and mutual