Caroline Darian, the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot, entering court. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images/File via CNN Newsource
The daughter of Gisèle Pelicot says she believes her mother would have died had it not been for the courage of others to report her father's crimes.
Dominque Pelicot and 50 other men were convicted last month in France of drugging and sexually abusing his wife over more than a decade.
Caroline Darian told Nine to Noon if other women had not reported to a security guard that her father was photographing up their skirts in the supermarket, his crimes against her mother would never have been known.
Her mother's symptoms from his repeated drugging of her was getting worse, she said.
Darian told the programme she feared her mother would have only lived for another year or two.
"It was a gift for her, really, because if those women didn't talk or have the courage to tell the security man that they were photographed by my father, I think my mother would have died."
Darian started her own charity to raise awareness of chemical submission.
Throughout her father's four-month trial, she learned the drug concoction he used on her mother was made up of household medicines.
"It's not some drug like cocaine or MDMA or GHB - it's nothing like that, it's what you have in your own house," Darian said.
In France, no doctor thought to test her mother for drugs when she began presenting with blackouts, fatigue and hair loss.
Gisèle Pelicot was being drugged by her husband for years. Photo: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP
"Most of the health professionals are not trained to be able to detect or identify some of those cases when they see women or even children [presenting with symptoms of chemical submission]," Darian said.
Darian was convinced her father had also drugged and abused her.
Soon after her mother told the family about the police investigation, Darian received her own call from police saying they had found images on her father's computer of her lying unconscious on a bed.
"I didn't get the chance to know the truth during the trial.
"I asked many times, to be precise four times, my father to tell me the truth so I can get on with my own life, to move forward," she said.
This courtroom sketch depicts Dominique Pelicot at the courthouse in Avignon, France, on September 11. Photo: ZZIIGG/Reuters via CNN Newsource
"He stayed silent or told a different kind of version but I know he drugged me. The only question I wanted to ask him is 'Why? Why did you do that?'"
It was terrible that her father had looked at her as a sexual object, but she had to move on, she said.
"Being his child is really difficult when you know that he was a vulture and took photos of my naked body. It's just awful.
"I had a close relationship with my father, you know, I really loved him.
"What he did...it's unthinkable, and for me, he doesn't exist any more," she said.
Darian was quick to note that not all men were like her father or those convicted along side him.
Her own husband and son had been a huge source of strength for her throughout the police investigation and trial.
"We need to do more educating of our sons, that's probably the main outcome of it," Darian said.
"Men have a key role to play. You have a voice and you can stand up. We need you guys, we really need you."
Part of the change she wanted to see was reform of the justice system in France to better support victims of crimes.
Darian broke down early on in the investigation and found herself in a psychiatric facility where she was then faced with the traumatic prospect of being forced to take drugs.
"Victims are completely alone once they push out the door of the police station. It's not acceptable."
She had launched nation-wide action in France in the wake of her mother's ordeal and planned to continue her activism for change.
Through everything, Darian said she was immensely proud of her 72-year-old mother, who was now preparing for a second trial for several of the men who were appealing their convictions.
Darian's father is not among those appealing.
Gisèle Pelicot was doing well, and was very strong, her daughter said.
"She went to court every day for four months and always looked those men right in the eyes. She's really brave.
"She showed the world that the shame is not on your should or on your shoulder, it's with the abuser. It's extraordinary," she said.
Where to get help - Sexual Violence
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - push 0 at the menu
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
