Two women who were drugged and raped by their partners while unconscious have launched an international support group for victims, with hundreds of people coming forward, including about 70 to 80 from the UK. Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope, both repeatedly assaulted by their partners, are calling for tighter laws to stop the sharing of images and videos of sexual assaults online.
NCA uncovers international network
On Thursday, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said it had uncovered a “truly international network” of organised drug-facilitated sexual assault. The NCA identified more than 270 individuals linked to an online forum it began investigating in October last year, but noted that many online networks remain “as yet unidentified by law enforcement”.
Support network grows rapidly
Watts set up a support network for women who have been victims of this type of rape. She said hundreds of people from 22 different countries reached out in about 40 days. “A lot of these women are asking for what the signs and symptoms are and saying: ‘Oh my god, I’ve been feeling this for years. I didn’t realise this is what was going on in my body until I found the images. I’m not going crazy,’” Watts said. “I think as awareness grows, we’re going to see a lot more women come forward.”
End Eye Check campaign
Their campaign, End Eye Check, refers to the act of a perpetrator pulling back a victim’s eyelids to show they are unconscious before assaulting them, something often filmed and searchable online. Watts’ husband of 16 years told her he had been crushing their son’s sleeping pills into her tea and raping her for over a decade. He is serving an 11-year prison sentence for various offences including rape.
Stanhope was raped repeatedly by her partner while unconscious on prescription medication, often waking up disoriented, in new clothes, and with bruises. Her partner was charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault but took his own life before the case reached court. She said he told her he had taken videos and images, but she does not know if they were uploaded online. “We need to tackle the online content, because that is what has fuelled it and why it’s grown so quickly and globally,” she said.
Failures in support systems
Stanhope said she “was failed by every single person that was supposed to help”. She decided to campaign for better support for women. “I woke up; that’s how I found out what was happening to me,” she said. “But some of these other women, it’s the police telling them they are a victim of this because they’ve found a video. It’s just the most horrific, traumatic experience, and there’s no real dedicated support at the moment.”
Inspired by Gisèle Pelicot
Both women were inspired to speak publicly after hearing the story of Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who was drugged and raped by her husband and dozens of other men for almost a decade. She waived her right to anonymity and insisted on a public trial to raise awareness. Watts and Stanhope say that while Pelicot’s case has increased awareness, there is still a long way to go to educate medical professionals on signs and teach young people about risks.
Watts said: “We need to be asking the medical community: if you have a woman who is struggling with her memory, very, very tired, maybe feeling sick, something’s not right – are you thinking she could have experienced a drug-facilitated rape? Because I really don’t think they are.” She added that a huge culture shift is needed for people to understand this crime could be happening close to home. “Are people looking at their friend group, and looking at their family, and thinking: are you safe tonight? Of course they’re not. They know Cheryl’s husband, Mark, and they know Rebecca’s husband, Tom. And there lies the problem, because it is happening, and we’re not questioning it. We’re not even asking.”
