Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
A Devon woman, Zoe Watts, has bravely come forward to share her harrowing experience of being drugged, raped, and filmed by her husband over several years. The abuse began during their 18-year relationship, starting from when she was 17. According to Zoe, her husband would secretly crush sleeping pills into her nighttime tea, enabling him to commit acts of sexual violence while she was unconscious. His crimes, which occurred between 2011 and 2016, included multiple counts of rape, assault by penetration, and administering drugs with the intent to overpower her. In 2022, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for these offenses.
Zoe’s revelation came when her husband unexpectedly confessed to his actions after they returned from church one Sunday. Alongside admitting to an affair, he disclosed that he had been drugging her to photograph and film the abuse. The shock left Zoe struggling to process the multiple betrayals she had just uncovered. It was only after her family alerted the authorities that she came to understand she had been raped, with police officers carefully explaining that sedated individuals cannot give consent. Although occasionally waking up disoriented during these assaults, Zoe found herself confused and unable to immediately recognize the horror she was enduring, especially from someone she had trusted and loved.
Together with Amanda Stanhope, another survivor of drug-facilitated sexual assault by her husband while unconscious, Zoe has initiated a campaign aimed at addressing these crimes. Their movement, #EndEyeCheck, highlights a disturbing practice wherein perpetrators check a victim’s eyelid to confirm unconsciousness before assaulting them and sometimes sharing footage online. The campaign seeks to establish support networks for survivors, develop educational programs for young people and healthcare professionals, and advocate for legislative change. They are calling for the criminalization of the creation, possession, and distribution of such exploitative material, along with legal accountability for online platforms that host it.
Zoe reports that hundreds of women affected by similar abuse have reached out from around 22 countries, showing the global nature of the crime. Emphasizing the covert and confusing nature of drug-facilitated rape, she encourages anyone who suspects they have been spiked to seek medical attention or report it to the police, even if they ultimately choose not to press charges. Supporting this message, Dawn Dines, founder of Stamp Out Spiking, warns that spiking is not limited to strangers and can often come from trusted individuals, making domestic cases especially dangerous. Dines points to growing awareness following high-profile cases, highlighting the urgent need for clearer and tougher laws to protect victims
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.