Show Notes
Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse and trauma. Listener discretion is advised.
What happens when the person you trust most is secretly violating that trust for years? In this episode of Consider Before Consuming, Zoe Watts shares her story of discovering that her husband had been drugging and sexually assaulting her while she slept. Zoe opens up about the confusion and disbelief she experienced, why it took time to fully understand what had happened, and the emotional and physical toll the trauma left behind. Zoe also discusses how abuse within marriage is often minimized or misunderstood, the harmful cultural messages that blur the lines around consent, and the disturbing online communities built around sharing and consuming nonconsensual “sleep content.” After her story became part of a major CNN investigation into online sexual exploitation, Zoe founded End Eye Check, an advocacy movement focused on raising awareness around drug-facilitated sexual abuse and supporting survivors. In this episode, we discuss how sexual abuse can hide within long-term relationships, why some survivors struggle to recognize abuse right away, how online communities normalize exploitative content, and what healing can look like after trauma.
Episode Resources: Victim Resources End Eye Check: Join The Campaign CNN Article: Exposing a global ‘rape academy’ Article: She Was Asleep While It Happened: Gisèle Pelicot and the Disturbing Rise of “Sleep Porn” Podcast: Consider Before Consuming Ep. 163: Amanda Stanhope
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