Ms Pelicot’s lawyer Stéphane Babonneau told The Independent he believes the example of his client inspired Le Scouarnec’s alleged victims after she waived her anonymity for the trial of her now-ex-husband and 50 other men who were all convicted of raping or sexually assaulting her.
Ms Pelicot’s lawyer Stéphane Babonneau said his client’s bravery had encouraged alleged victims in the trial of surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec, accused of abusing hundreds of patients.
The trial comes at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France, just weeks after Ms Pelicot’s abusers were sentenced in the mass rape trial in France that shocked the world.
It was a case that resonated around the globe after Ms Pelicot stood up in court and told the world: “It’s not for us to have shame – it’s for them.” The statement was to become the slogan of the case, which sparked global conversations on sexual violence and rape culture.
Victims who were allegedly raped and abused by a former surgeon in France have been inspired by Gisèle Pelicot to testify publically in what will be the country’s largest-ever child abuse trial, according to her lawyer.
