Gisèle Pelicot pays tribute to unrecognized victims as she speaks outside of courtroom

 

Gisele Pelicot addresses the press as she leaves the courthouse after hearing the verdict of the court that sentenced her ex-husband to the maximum term of 20 years jail in Avignon, France, on December 19. 

Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Gisèle Pelicot, an icon in the fight against sexual violence, has told reporters outside the courtroom that it’s with a “deep emotion that I stand today in front of you.”

“This process has been extremely difficult and at this moment I think first of my three children: David, Caroline and Florian,” she said.

“I’m also thinking of all the other families affected by this drama. Finally: I think of all the unrecognized victims of stories which often unfold in the shadows. I want you to know we share the same fight,” she added.

For over a decade Gisèle Pelicot was repeatedly drugged unconscious, then raped by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot.

Forty-nine other men were found guilty of raping her in an Avignon court today, with one man found guilty of sexual assault.