Jill Saward, who became a campaigner against sexual violence after she was raped in her father’s vicarage in Ealing, has died aged 51.
Ms Saward, also known by her married name Drake, died after suffering a stroke.
She became the first rape victim to waive her anonymity in the UK to speak about the attack, which happened in 1986 when she was 21.
She was at home with her vicar father and her boyfriend when a gang broke in.
Two of the balaclava-wearing men repeatedly raped her before tying her up with a skipping rope while another two beat her father and boyfriend with a cricket bat, leaving them close to death.
The attack, which came to be known as the Ealing vicarage rape, received widespread attention not just for its brutality, but also due to a comment made during the Old Bailey trial the following year.
Judge Sir John Leonard said the trauma suffered by her "had not been so great", something he later regretted.
Ms Saward waived her anonymity in 1990 when she published her book, Rape: My Story.
She spent the rest of her life campaigning on issues including sexual violence and violence against women.
One of her recent battles was against a proposal to give people accused of rape anonymity until they are convicted, saying this implied victims were lying.
Under anonymity rules in place at the time of her case, Ms Saward was not allowed to know the name of her rapist until the day of the court hearing.
She said that the shock of learning the name in court distracted her from concentrating on the evidence she had to give.
Ms Saward, born in Liverpool in 1965, once wrote she had no issues with being "tagged" as a rape victim, adding: "I make no complaint about this tag as it has enabled me to challenge politicians and work for change."
A statement on her website from her family said: "It is with deep shock and great sadness that we must announce that Jill Saward (Jill Drake) died this morning in New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, following a subarachnoid haemorrhage on Tuesday.
"Jill dedicated the past 30 years of her life to helping other people. It gives us great comfort to know that our wonderful wife, mother and sister was able to help other people to the very end. We would like to thank all those who contributed to her medical care in recent days.
"We are also so very grateful for the many expressions of prayer, love and support we have received.”
