PARIS (dpa): Mindsets need to change in the fight against sexual violence, according to Gisele Pelicot, who was repeatedly drugged, abused, and offered to strangers for rape by her then-husband over nearly 10 years.
"I believe this can only be achieved through education and through respect and empathy for one another," the 73-year-old French woman told the news portal of German public broadcaster ZDF in an interview published on Sunday. "We must continue this fight. We must not relent."
In 2024, Pelicot's ex-husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The court also sentenced 50 men, mostly charged with severe rape, to prison terms ranging from three to 15 years.
Pelicot became a feminist icon in France and the world due to her resolute stance and her decision not to conduct the trial behind closed doors.
Memoirs published: "The hardest time is behind me"
That her husband could do something like this to her was initially unimaginable for Pelicot. "It was like a high-speed train crashing into me," she told ZDF.
In a separate interview with Der Spiegel news magazine she says, "This story forced me to take stock of my life."
Pelicot has now written a book about her experiences: "A Hymn to Life."
The work, co-authored with journalist and author Judith Perrignon, is scheduled for international publication on Tuesday, including in Germany.
"What happened, I can't forget anyway. So I am trying to make something of it. I didn't want to dwell in pain, the book helped me with that," she told Der Spiegel.
It is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited book of the year: in her memoirs, to be published on February 17, 2026, Gisele Pelicot tells for the first time the rapes organised by her ex-husband and the historic trial in Avignon, which made her a leading figure in the fight against sexual violence.-- dpa
