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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

DP having sex with me when I'm asleep...

61 replies

RunSweatLaughAndLatte · 05/03/2019 10:55

I'll be honest here, I've recently stopped having an emotional affair with another man. I looked deep inwards to figure out why I felt that I needed to look elsewhere outside of my relationship, and on top of my depression and the general sense of boredom in life, I realise that I wasn't attracted to DP anymore and had no interest in sex with him. His appearance hasn't changed, but there was something about him that was putting me off. I realised that a part of it was just feeling like a body with holes in it to him; he was constantly groping me, telling me how hot I am etc. Which in normal levels can be quite flattering, but it started to feel like I was a sex doll. Then I was waking up at night to him having sex with me, if I told him to stop he did. But this was happening at least once a week. I told him I didn't like it and found it creepy. He said he starts doing it in his sleep and he doesn't even realise he's doing it until he wakes up halfway through (I do believe this because he has sleep-walked on occasion, and he does sometimes speak quite vulgar in his sleep i.e. "I want to fuck you " etc and has no recollection when he wakes up), when he wakes up he's halfway through and assumes that I'm OK with it because I haven't told him to stop. Problem is, I have on occasion been so tired I've just slept through and not realised he's had sex with me. Now, to me, that's not on and it's completely disgusting. I woke up once about 6 months ago to physical evidence of having had sex but no recollection of doing so, and when I asked him if we had sex that night he said he woke up having sex with me and assumed I was conscious at the time but then when I asked did I say anything, he said no, come to think of it I was quite quiet. I said did that not alert you to the fact that I wasn't conscious? and he said hmm I suppose it should have. And I made him swear he wouldn't do it again. I can't say I've had that scenario again where I've been completely unaware but he does still get quite sexual in the night time, and actually these days I don't mind it if I'm in the mood. But I can't get past the thought that I was basically raped that night. We've overcome a lot of our differences and I'm happier, and building a solid relationship again, I've stopped interacting with OM and my DP is aware I had feelings for another man. But there is still a part of me that can't shake the uncomfortable feeling I get that 6 months ago he had sex with me when I was completely unconscious and I only found out the next day because of the physical evidence and I had to question him about it.

OP posts:
TheFormidableMrsC · 05/03/2019 12:11

OP, my ex-husband used to do this to me. IT IS RAPE. There is NO OTHER DESCRIPTION. While I didn't pursue with police (complicated situation with DS), I did speak to them about it. You haven't expanded on your circumstances but it is clear the relationship is over, you already describe how he makes you feel, my ex was the same..he probably also can't "just" have a cuddle without it turning into a grope, I used to be groped in front of visitors, even his parents. There is NO excuse for his behaviour. I hope you can get out quickly and easily Flowers

TheFormidableMrsC · 05/03/2019 12:13

Also, as an aside, I sleepwalk and have done for many years, I have never used it as an excuse to fucking rape somebody! So bollocks to any rape apologists that appear.

imablackstarnotapopstar · 05/03/2019 12:21

This was rape. Unless you give clear consent and then don't withdraw that consent, any sexual touching or oral, vaginal or anal penetration with any part of someone else's body is sexual assault and if it involves their penis it is rape. This is against the law no matter what your relationship is. This has happened repeatedly. There is never any excuse for it.

There will be a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) in your area with a 24 hour referral line where you can speak to someone for advice and support, even if you don't want to report it. They can arrange counselling to help you get your head round this and make decisions about the future. They can also support you through the police process if you decide to report but if you don't want to they will support you.

Please give them a call to get qualified non judgmental advice and support so this never happens to you again.

MotherOfDragonite · 05/03/2019 12:22

I have actually had what I would term "sleep sex" with a former partner on a few occasions. Although in each case I initiated it and he woke up and consented, I still felt incredibly weird about it in the morning as I thought it had been a dream and it hadn't been (for example I felt very sore and had vivid but dreamlike memories of behaving in ways I wouldn't have in normal life, which I confirmed by talking to my partner about what had happened). I know this isn't quite the same but I do want to let you know that this really is something that can legitimately happen. I found it extremely disturbing even though I was the one doing it. Weirdly it has never happened with other partners since then. If it had continued happening, I'm afraid I would have started sleeping in separate rooms.

MakeItAmazing · 05/03/2019 12:22

Run I am so sorry you have been through all this. I don't believe he's sleep talking at all when he states he wants to fuck you. I think he's laying the groundwork to justify the escalation of his behaviour. You have enough justification to leave this man. Please do so.

Years ago I awoke to my boyfriend trying to/having sex with me. It was really unhelpful for me to be made to feel like I had been raped and I don't accept it now. It's more important how you feel about things than what the law is. If you feel raped then there are places you can go to for help. If you feel it would help to report to the police, do so but don't be told what to do or made to feel what you don't genuinely feel by anyone else. And that's not me telling you what to do either Flowers.

HellonHeels · 05/03/2019 12:22

If he wakes up and continues because he thinks the OP is awake and consents, that is not rape

Yes it is rape! He should ensure she is awake and consents.

downcasteyes · 05/03/2019 12:25

I'm so sorry, OP. This is rape. And I just do not believe that he is asleep doing it.

MotherOfDragonite · 05/03/2019 12:25

I don't say this to diminish the seriousness of what has happened to you. It was rape. I am not surprised that you feel awful about it and have been dwelling on it since it happened. If this is really happening then he really needs to put measures in place to prevent it from being possible, at a minimum. You also need to be able to talk about what happened and process it. Perhaps you don't want to stay with this person (I wouldn't).

BlingLoving · 05/03/2019 12:28

If he wakes up and continues because he thinks the OP is awake and consents, that is not rape

I think he needs more than "thinks" for this not to be rape?

Clearly this is rape. If you take it from another perspective however, in the extremely unlikely event he's telling the truth, why on earth would you want to be with a man who claims not to have even realised you were asleep? I'm 100% certain that my lack of active participation or response during sex (eg if I was asleep) would be a dead giveaway to DH that I was not in fact actively consenting, never mind enjoying it. I just can't imagine a scenario in which Dh and I agree it's okay for him to have sex with me while I lie there completely still with my eyes closed.

prh47bridge · 05/03/2019 12:31

I think he needs more than "thinks" for this not to be rape

For a rape conviction you would have to show that he was either aware that the OP did not consent or was reckless as to consent. If he genuinely believed she was awake and consented it is not rape. To be more precise, the OP has been raped (in that he has had sex with her without consent) but he is not guilty of rape.

BIWI · 05/03/2019 12:39

@MakeItAmazing It makes no difference what it made you feel better to feel!

It's more important how you feel about things than what the law is. If you feel raped then ...

Don't try and downplay this. It. is. rape.

MakeItAmazing · 05/03/2019 12:48

I am not downplaying this at all BIWI And you've completely misread my post if you think that.

MakeItAmazing · 05/03/2019 12:48

And it makes all the difference to me how I feel.

Bluntness100 · 05/03/2019 12:55

Op, I mean this gently but how did you sleep right through sex? I understand you're saying he has a sleep disorder, but do you also have one? It would be very unusual to sleep through sex and I would be concerned about that.

BlueCornishPixie · 05/03/2019 12:56

I think you'd have to be pretty fucking thick to wake up having sex with someone, who is lying there with their eyes closed, completely unresponsive to the sex (because they are fucking asleep) that they were a)awake and b) had consented to the sex. Despite the fact they had given you no indication that they were even aware sex was happening. Come on.

And tbh there are 2 scenarios there either a) OP was aware and had consented to having sex with a sleeping man -so she was doing the sleep rape
Or b) OP was asleep
Both of the above scenarios would result in recoiling in horror from the situation! None would result in continuing.

This is rape. And he knows it. Even if you believe he was asleep when it began he carried on knowing full well she was asleep.

I have heard of people having sex in their sleep but I am very dubious. It requires a fair amount of coordination to stick your dick in a vagina, I find it difficult to believe you can a)find the person's vagina (bearing in mind that this will probably involving moving another human beings legs and potentially removing clothes) and b)manage to get in when you are 100% unconscious.

Sorry OP that this has happened to you. Flowers

certainlymerry · 05/03/2019 13:03

Christ . I can’t beleive what I am reading. Isn’t he ashamed? Appalled at himself? I couldn’t live with a man like that. I would t class it as rape but what pleasure does he think you get out of this? How can he enjoy having sex with an unconscious woman, even in his sleep??

smurfy2015 · 05/03/2019 13:12

My partner has a sleep disorder, he also sometimes sleepwalks straight into danger, he has a limb movement disorder that means he kicks all while he is asleep. He has managed not to rape me due to the sleep disorder when he stays over. He manages not to rape anybody however he does sometimes say the most BS things like but still manages not to rape anyone.

sagradafamiliar · 05/03/2019 13:23

Defining what counts as rape can sometimes be problematic but the victim being unconscious is as clear cut as it gets. No one can consent to sex when they're fast a fucking sleep. Mind boggling the twists and turns some people will weave to excuse rapists.

prh47bridge · 05/03/2019 13:27

I think you'd have to be pretty fucking thick to wake up having sex with someone, who is lying there with their eyes closed, completely unresponsive to the sex (because they are fucking asleep) that they were a)awake and b) had consented to the sex

In the immediate moments after waking up when he is still half asleep he may well believe that she is awake and had consented. However, once he is fully awake I would agree that it is no longer reasonable for him to believe those things so, at that point, it is clearly rape.

prh47bridge · 05/03/2019 13:31

Defining what counts as rape can sometimes be problematic but the victim being unconscious is as clear cut as it gets. No one can consent to sex when they're fast a fucking sleep. Mind boggling the twists and turns some people will weave to excuse rapists

If you are thinking of me, I am not excusing rapists. I am simply setting out the law.

PotatoesDieInHotCars · 05/03/2019 13:34

Like others have said this is rape. It doesn't matter if he's awake, asleep, drunk, drugged, concussed etc if you are asleep and therefore not able to consent it is always rape. The reason only matters when it comes to prosecution. It doesn't change the act.

What's even more horrific about this is that he knows he does this, he knows he has a condition that leads him to abuse you while he sleeps...but he doesn't do anything to stop it. That's scary.

YouBumder · 05/03/2019 13:36

“Sleep sex” what the fuck ever.

Your husband is a rapist OP. I’m so sorry xx

sagradafamiliar · 05/03/2019 13:39

I wasn't, prh, but please do make sure you have a full grasp of the current law so you don't risk promulgating wrong information on rape support threads.

katseyes7 · 05/03/2019 13:57

My ex husband used to sleepwalk and sleep talk. l woke up several times with him trying to have sex with me. He always denied all knowledge, insisting he was asleep and didn't know what he was doing, and to be fair, when he was sleepwalking, it was very difficult to wake him up. On one occasion he'd put his coat and boots on with just his underpants and when our dog heard the car keys rattle in his pocket, he barked and that woke me up. When my husband 'came to' he seemed shocked and disorientated, couldn't understand how he was half dressed, and genuinely had no knowledge of what was going on.
However. l'm a very light sleeper and l used to wake up as soon as he touched me, and push him off. lf your husband does wake up while he's having/trying to have sex with you, and continues, then that's extremely wrong.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 05/03/2019 14:19

What has prh47bridge said that is incorrect?