Gisèle Pelicot: 'I wanted all of society to be a witness'

Fifty one men found guilty in rape trial that shocked the world | Leaders and public honour the woman who refused to be shamed

- Angelique Chrisafis

Gisèle Pelicot paid tribute to sexual violence victims still fighting for recognition in society yesterday after her ex-husband and 50 other men were found guilty in the biggest rape trial in French history.

As political leaders hailed the trial as a turning point in the battle against rape culture and victim-shaming, Pelicot, 72, said that she had never regretted her decision to waive her right to anonymity in order to hold the trial in public.

In front of crowds of supporters who had gathered outside court in the French city of Avignon to cheer her on, she said that on the final day of the months-long trial she was thinking "of the unrecognised victims, whose stories often remain in the shadows".

"I want you to know that we share the same fight," she said, adding: "When I opened the doors to this trial that began on 2 September, I wanted all of society to be a witness to the debates that took place here... I now have confidence in our capacity to find a better future where everyone - women and men alike - can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding."

Gisèle Pelicot's former husband, Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging her and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the south of France over almost a decade of their marriage. The presiding judge, Roger Arata, said the 72-year-old would not be eligible for parole until he had served two-thirds of his sentence.

Guilty verdicts were also returned for all the accused men, including a nurse, a soldier, a journalist, a prison warden and delivery drivers, aged from 26 to 74. Forty-seven were convicted of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.

Praising her bravery, international leaders rushed to thank Gisèle Pelicot for refusing to be shamed and exposing the pervasiveness of sexual violence.