Hundreds join support group for survivors of drug-facilitated rape
Two women who were drugged and raped by their partners have set up an international support group, with hundreds joining, including about 80 from the UK, as they call for tighter laws on sharing images of sexual assaults online.
Two British women, Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope, who were drugged and raped by their partners while unconscious, have established an international support network for victims of drug-facilitated sexual assault. They are calling for stricter laws to prevent the online sharing of images and videos of such crimes.
Watts reported that within 40 days, people from 22 countries reached out, including 70–80 from the UK. Many women said they only realized what had happened after finding images of themselves.
Their campaign, "End Eye Check," highlights the perpetrator's act of pulling back a victim's eyelids to show unconsciousness before assaulting them—a practice often filmed and searchable online.
Watts' husband of 16 years confessed to 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 rape and other offenses. Stanhope's partner was charged with multiple rapes but took his own life before trial.
Both women were inspired by Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who was drugged and raped by her husband and dozens of other men, and who waived her anonymity to raise awareness. Watts emphasized the need for medical professionals to recognize signs of drug-facilitated rape and for a cultural shift in society to question whether this crime is happening close to home.
