Gisèle Pelicot, who survived nearly a decade of rapes by dozens of men, facilitated by her husband, has reached a settlement with Paris Match magazine, which she accused of taking photos of her without her consent.
Pelicot's lawyer Emilie Sudre said late on Tuesday that "an amicable settlement" had been reached between Pelicot and the weekly magazine Paris Match. The case was due to go to court on Wednesday.
In April, Paris Match published seven pictures of Pelicot accompanied by a man it described as being her new companion, walking in the streets of her new hometown.
Her lawyer at the time, Antoine Camus, said it was "disappointing" that Paris Match would secretly take pictures of Pelicot "whose ordeal was the subject of 3,000 pictures and videos".
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He accused the magazine of "having learned nothing from the four-month trial" last year that saw her former husband and 50 other men convicted.
Sudre said Pelicot had not requested any personal compensation in the settlement. Her client instead agreed that the magazine should "pay €40,000 to two associations supporting victims of violence, including within families," especially women and children.
The two organisations fund a women's shelter and a riding centre which helps survivors recover – the latter based in the town of Mazan where much of the abuse Pelicot suffered took place.
Christophe Bigot, a lawyer for Paris Match, said the magazine was "delighted with the solution, which would help victims of violence".
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Turning the tables on shame
Pelicot – who has since changed her name – gained international acclaim after she demanded her trial be open to the public, forgoing her anonymity, and insisting it was rapists, not their victims, who should feel ashamed.
Dominique Pelicot, her former husband, drugged her for nearly a decade so he and dozens of strangers he recruited online could rape her in her own bed. He meticulously documented the abuse in files on his computer.
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A French court in December sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Fifty other men were also convicted in a trial that saw no acquittals.
Seventeen of the other defendants initially lodged an appeal, but sixteen have since withdrawn their claim. The single remaining appellant, Husamettin D, has the right to drop his appeal right up until the opening of his hearing, scheduled for 6 October.
(with AFP)
