Gloria Steinem pays tribute to Gisele Pelicot

WorldPolitics
17 Feb 2026 • 5:13 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

Pioneering feminist Gloria Steinem has paid tribute to Gisele Pelicot, the woman at the centre of France's largest rape trial.

During a moving Newsnight interview broadcast on Sunday (15 February), Ms Steinem made a video appearance where she explained how “grateful” she was to survivor Ms Pelicot.

In December 2024, her husband Dominique Pelicot was found guilty and imprisoned for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to assault her while she was incapacitated.

Ms Pelicot bravely waived her right to anonymity, with the trial therefore held in public.

Social-political activist Steinem praised: “You have become a symbol of strength, of endurance, of kindness, of honesty, and we will be forever grateful to you”.

Read More

Watch: Gisèle Pelicot moved to tears by messages of support from women

‘I was sacrificed on the altar of vice’: Gisele Pelicot describes impact of abuse

Shipwrecked sailor and his dog airlifted to safety after crashing into rocks