51 'Mr. Everymans' were found guilty of rape. How Gisele Pelicot case sparked a movement.

The French rape trial that shocked the world and sparked widespread calls for justice for women rape victims ended on Thursday with the conviction of 51 men for raping and attempting to rape Gisele Pelicot, including her husband, who drugged and arranged the abuse for years.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the other 50 men were sentenced to between three and 15 years. Two were found guilty of attempted rape and two of sexual assault, while the rest were found guilty of rape.

A crowd of demonstrators burst into applause and cheers outside the courtroom in Avignon, southern France, as the verdict was read aloud. For months, protesters swarmed the outside of the courtroom, cheering in support of Gisele Pelicot and the feminist motto her case sparked – "shame must change sides."

More:Gisele Pelicot went public in French rape case, and it made all the difference

"I am thinking about the unrecognized victims whose stories often remain in the shadows, I want you to know that we share the same battle," she said in a statement after the verdict.

The trial triggered protests across France and beyond. In September, weeks after it began, feminists gathered in dozens of cities, including Paris, where thousands of people gathered at the Place de la Republique to demonstrate against "rape culture" and in support of female rape victims.

Gisele Pelicot became a feminist hero in the eyes of many women when she waived her right to anonymity in the trial, exposing the horror of her ordeal to the public. Her rapists are shockingly diverse – from firemen to DJs, some married with children, others single, and ranging in age almost 50 years – earning some to in France to call them "Mr. Everyman."

Dominique Pelicot admitted guilt early in the trial – "I am a rapist, just like all the others in this room," he told the court.

More:'We are all Gisèle': French women rise up against 'rape culture' during Gisèle Pelicot trial

Police first arrested him in 2020 for trying to take pictures up women's skirts in a supermarket. On his electronic devices, they found hundreds of images of his sleeping wife being abused by himself and dozens of men.

It was a horrifying end to what Gisele Pelicot thought was a happy, five-decade marriage. She divorced him before the trial began.

Trial sparks uproar over rape convictions, justice system

Feminist leaders and activists said the case was also a searing indictment of the French legal system's handling of rape and sexual violence.

Gisele Pelicot echoed their concerns in her own statements to the court, calling out "this macho, patriarchal society" and its treatment of rape in her closing remarks last month.

Some highlighted a recent drastic increase of sexual assault victims in the country – they doubled from 2017 to 2019 – and the miniscule number of convictions – less than 5%, out of tens of thousands of rapes reported in recent years, and nine out of ten rapes are never reported, according to some estimates.

Others pointed to the issue of "chemical submission" – drug-assisted rape. Until police arrested her husband, Gisele Pelicot believed her blackouts in memory were signs of a brain or tumor or the onset of Alzheimer's.

More:'We are all Gisèle': French women rise up against 'rape culture' during Gisèle Pelicot trial

Violette Perrotte, director of Le Maison des Femmes, which runs medical centers for female violence victims, said the organization started training doctors to look for signs that victims were drugged in response to the trial.

"The trial showed a real lack of training for healthcare professionals in identifying victims of domestic violence," Perrotte said.

Perrotte wondered how many women could have come to medical centers showing signs of rape similar to Pelicot, but were not identified because providers didn't yet know the signs.

Pelicot children asked court to punish their father

During the trial, the Pelicot children spoke viscerally of their anger at their father and how his crimes ripped apart their family. The couple's two sons said their father was dead to them and asked the court to punish him severely.

Caroline Darian, the Pelicots' only daughter, has said she believes her father also drugged and abused her. He denies the accusation, but explicit pictures of Darian were also found on his devices.

Darian launched a campaign of awareness about chemical submission called #Mendorspas, "Don't put me under," and is writing a book called "I'll Never Call Him Dad Again: Turning our family trauma of Chemical Submission into a collective fight," set for publication next month.

Feminists celebrate convictions, criticize sentences

As French feminists celebrated the convictions outside the courtroom, others criticized the sentences as insufficient. Apart from Dominique Pelicot, the sentences for the other men ranged from three to 15 years prison time, less than the prosecution's request of four to 18 years.

Alyssa Ahrabare, president of the French Coordination for the European Women's Lobby, called the verdict "a mixed victory."

The men's sentences were below the national average, she said. "Given the length of the procedure and the gravity of the facts of the case, it should have been stronger."

The trial didn't fix that rape victims like Pelicot have to endure a years-long trial process, confront their rapists in court, and answer intrusive questions, Ahrabare said. During the trial, some feminists decried questions that defense attorneys asked Gisele Pelicot, implying she was an alcoholic or a willing participant in a married couple's sex games.

Anissa Rami, a French feminist activist who spoke at a protest, called the length of the sentences "a shame." She hopes the conversation that the trial sparked can stay alive.

"I still don't have hope in the justice [system], but I do have hope in the women who feel less alone," she said.