Gisèle Pelicot paid a huge price going public but her bravery has changed the conversation for thousands of rape victims

IN choosing to waive her anonymity, Gisèle Pelicot has paid a huge price.

But the gift she has made to women, especially those who have also been raped and sexually assaulted, is greater still.

It was feminists that pushed for the change in UK law, which came into force in 1976, that gave victims of sex crime the right to anonymity.

Prior to that, women were very unlikely to report rape, because the humiliation of being named brought shame and stigma onto the victim, rather than the perpetrator.

In cases of sexual assault, all too often the scrutiny is on the woman, rather than the man that carried out the attack.

“What was she wearing?”, “Had she been drinking?”, “Was she known to be promiscuous?”

All these questions and assumptions put the focus on the victim. Gisèle’s willingness to be named and photographed by the world’s press, having been raped by upwards of 50 men, has taken ‘courage’ to a new level.

The late Jill Saward, known as the Ealing Vicarage rape victim, waived her anonymity after being repeatedly and violently raped by two men during a burglary.

Jill was only 21 at the time, but she went on to be a lifelong campaigner for the rights and protection of rape victims. Like Gisèle, she was a hero.

Now that the 51 men in the Pelicot trial have been convicted and sentenced, other rape victims, inspired by Gisèle, are saying they will also waive anonymity during any trial. I hope they do so with support, and without regret.

Some years ago, I interviewed an 18-year-old who had been gang raped and was determined that I should use her full name in the report in a national newspaper.

I gently dissuaded her from doing so, because she had her life and career ahead of her.

I asked if she wanted her terrible ordeal to be the first thing a potential employer would see when googling her and she later told me she was grateful for my advice.

Gisèle has been a gamechanger. She has brought the truth about rape, and how ‘ordinary men’ who are part of the local community can and do carry out monstrous crimes.

She has shone a light on the perpetrators, and become an international feminist icon.

Gisèle will be forever remembered as a woman who shifted the focus onto the men who commit such heinous crimes. As a result, no stigma or shame has attached to her. Far from it.

I have campaigned my entire adult life to end male violence against women and girls, and fully support the right to anonymity for rape victims.

I also wholeheartedly applaud every woman who stands up and uses her name without shame. Such women must have full protection and support from the criminal justice system, and from wider society.

As Gisele said, shame must change sides.

The bravery and tenacity of women who have endured terrible abuse never fails to bring me joy and sustenance.

I am one of countless women saying to Gisèle: “Thank you, sister”.