Has your image been shared, uploaded, altered, or sold without your consent? Has your husband had sex with a prostitute and then had sex with you without telling you? Here are 6 things you probably didn’t know met the criteria for sexual abuse.
If you relate, schedule an Individual Session with a Betrayal Trauma Recovery Coach TODAY.
You Deserve Sexual Safety
Sexual abuse in marriage often goes unspoken due to deeply ingrained societal norms and misconceptions.
It’s crucial to understand that sexual abuse can occur within the confines of marriage and this can have profound impacts on a woman’s physical and emotional well-being. Many women in the Betrayal Trauma Recovery Community have experienced a lack of sexual safety when their husband has had sex without disclosing important information or taken and shared images or videos of her without her consent.
Correctly labeling this as sexual abuse is an important step in seeking safety.
At BTR.ORG, we know how painful it is to not only deal with the trauma of sexual exploitation, but also the devastation of betrayal trauma.
If you related to anything in this article, attend a Betrayal Trauma Recovery Sessions and find a community that loves and accepts you.
Here are 6 things everyone needs to know about sexual abuse:
1. A Husband Can Sexually Abuse His Wife
The misconception that marriage implies perpetual consent is abusive.
Consent probably isn’t even the right word. Does she have all the information she needs, and knowing all that information, does she actually want to have sex without feeling threatened.
Meaning, does she fear she’ll lose the relationship or that he’ll be mad if she doesn’t have sex with her husband?
2. Sexual Coercion IS Sexual Abuse
Sexual coercion involves pressuring, intimidating, threatening, sulking, or manipulating someone into having sex. This could include
- Threats to get sex somewhere else
- Threatening to use pornography if she doesn’t give him sex
- Guilt trips
- Sulking
- Blaming
- Whining
- Using scripture or spiritual abuse to tell her God wants her to have sex
Such coercion is a form of sexual abuse, as it disregards your autonomy and right to choose.
3. Failing to Disclose Behaviors Outside Your Boundaries is Sexual Coercion
If your husband engages in behaviors that violate your sexual boundaries—such as pornography use or soliciting prostitutes—without your knowledge, it’s a form of sexual coercion.
This deceit undermines trust and exploits your lack of informed consent, which constitutes sexual abuse.
4. Manipulation or Deception for Sex is Sexual Exploitation
If your husband lies, manipulates, or uses deceptive tactics to coerce you into sex, it is a form of sexual exploitation.
This behavior manipulates your choices and breaches the trust that should exist between partners, amounting to abuse.
5. Filming Without Consent is Sex Trafficking
Recording you without your consent while you’re undressed or during a sexual act, and distributing or selling this content, constitutes sex trafficking.
This act is a severe violation of your privacy and autonomy and is a criminal offense.
6. Using or Altering Your Images as Porn is Sexual Abuse
Whether it’s using real images or altering them with AI to create pornographic content, distributing such material without your consent is sexual abuse. It exploits your image and identity and can have devastating effects on your life and well-being.
If you’ve experienced your husband’s sexual abuse in any of these forms remember, abuse is never your fault. You deserve a relationship built on mutual respect and love.
Seeking Safety From Your Husband’s Sexual Abuse
Schedule an Individual Session with a Betrayal Trauma Recovery Coach to create a safety plan as you report your husband/partner’s abuse
Listen to The FREE Betrayal Trauma Recovery Podcast to learn more about this type of sexual abuse.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) understands the gravity of this form of sexual exploitation and abuse:
- Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Hotline 844-878-2274
- sexualexploitationlawsuits.com
- endsexualexploitation.com
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