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Gloria Steinem pays tribute to Gisele Pelicot

00:30

Monday 16 February 2026 21:13 GMT

Gloria Steinem pays tribute to Gisele Pelicot

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”.

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