Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered in cities around France on Saturday in support of Gisele Pelicot, a woman whose husband is on trial, accused of drugging her and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade in a case that has shocked the nation.

When she walks into the courthouse in the French city of Avignon, flanked by her children and a team of lawyers, Gisèle Pelicot cuts an unassuming figure. The 72-year-old mother and grandmother, her hair styled into a neat bob,

The woman who for ten years was the victim of her own husband's monstrous acts has become a symbol in France and around the world for female dignity and against 'the worst of male violence'

Dominique Pelicot is charged with orchestrating the assault of his wife Gisèle Pelicot, drugging and offering her to a stream of men he met in a chatroom and filming the repeated rapes.

Dominique Pelicot, the Frenchman accused of drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over a decade, on Tuesday admitted to the various criminal charges he faces in a closely-watched trial,

Gisele Pelicot has become a figurehead in the battle against sexual abuse.

Feminist associations have called for nearly 30 gatherings in cities varying from Marseille to Paris, where on the Place de la Republique banners read "Support to Gisele" or "Shame Must Change Camp” or “Victims We believe you”.

PARIS (Reuters) -Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered in cities across France on Saturday in support of Gisele Pelicot whose husband is on trial, accused of drugging her and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her in a case that has shocked the nation.