Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman who garnered international attention after publicly testifying during her mass-rape trial last year, has been awarded France’s highest honor.
The 72-year-old has been named a knight of the Legion of Honour, according to a list released in anticipation of France’s Bastille Day.
Pelicot waived her right to anonymity throughout the highly publicized trial against her husband, who had drugged and raped her, in addition to inviting dozens of strangers to sexually abuse her over the course of nearly a decade.
Pelicot was among 589 individuals who received France’s most prestigious award on Sunday.
She attended almost every day of the trial, which concluded last December with Dominique Pelicot, 72, receiving a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for aggravated rape. He confessed to drugging her and enlisting approximately 50 men to rape her while she was incapacitated in bed.
“I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too,” Pelicot previously told reporters, stating her desire to “shift shame” from the victim to the perpetrator.
French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly acknowledged Pelicot as a pioneer, adding that her “dignity and courage moved and inspired France and the world.”
According to her lawyer, a memoir detailing Gisèle Pelicot’s story in her own words is slated for publication early next year.