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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

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Partner has no respect for my sexual boundaries

772 replies

angryandscared1 · 06/11/2021 08:01

I'm so angry and upset. NC for this but regular poster.

I'm sorry this is quite long and some graphic descriptions of sexual nature so please don't read on if this isn't for you.

Partner and I have 7 month baby, things have been v stressful since baby was born, no time for each other etc. We've been working on it.

We very rarely have sex, it's just impossible to find the time or energy, both always exhausted. I'd say we have sex once every 2-3 weeks since baby's birth, it used to be every other day or at least 4 times a week so I understand his frustration. I also feel differently now, hate my body how it's changed so much (used to be slim and toned now have larger tummy and thighs), and also I just don't have much libido anymore.

Anyway last night we were kissing in bed etc and I said I wanted to try and have sex. I was very clear it had to be with a condom or nothing (I'm not on any birth control at the moment and definitely don't want another baby yet), and I also said I need you to be gentle and careful. He agreed. He then proceeded to be quite rough with his fingers, I had to remind him twice please be gentle that hurts. Then he attempted to penetrate me without the condom on, I said what are you doing, he said I wanted to "feel you" - I said again, no we need to take this seriously as I don't want to end up pregnant again. He seemed to accept that but the rest of the foreplay seemed half hearted so I felt he wasn't interested and was impatient to get to the "main event". He kept pushing to penetrate me (more with his body language than anything). I felt under pressure. He also had his hand on my throat at one point - I removed it but didn't say anything to him. After some foreplay I said ok we can do it now - he then entered me quite aggressively from behind without a condom (I didn't realise at this point he didn't have one on). I was so taken aback by how rough it was, I didn't know what to say or do, it hurt so much. He was being very aggressive, I tried to get up on my knees to stop the pain but I couldn't. I have no idea why I didn't just say stop, but I was in shock with it. Then he said he was going to ejaculate on my bum - I suddenly realised there was no condom. I started to cry and pull away from him then I just left the bed sat in the bathroom and cried.

Afterwards I said how hurt and angry I was that he has no respect for my boundaries. He claimed it was "hard to remember" to use a condom because we never used to before the baby. I think this is a ridiculous excuse, I said several times please use one. With regard to being rough with me, he said "I thought you wanted rough sex" (not sure how, I'd said several times during foreplay, please be gentle).

This morning he's making me feel like I've done something wrong. I said technically he had raped me by penetrating me against my consent without a condom - he got annoyed when I used that word and said "fine we aren't having sex ever again if you're going accuse me of that - from now on this is a sexless relationship and I'll stay just for the baby".

I'm so confused about the whole thing. Did he rape me? Should I have spoken up sooner and said stop when it hurt? I just can't make sense of any of it and I don't want him anywhere near me anymore. Sad

OP posts:
category12 · 06/11/2021 11:32

Have you no family?

angryandscared1 · 06/11/2021 11:32

@Ragruggers

I am so sorry,can you leave for a few days?do you have somewhere safe to go ie with family or friends.You will need to think of the future with your baby.What is your housing situation?As hard as this is your trust with him is over you can’t live with this fear.Take care.

My family are not close by and I don't want them to know about any of this, it just makes me feel so ashamed. I have a friend I could tell. House is rented, joint tenancy.

OP posts:
Lemonopolis1 · 06/11/2021 11:33

OP I really think you should considering stepping away from MN right now. You’re clearly very not in a good place just now and I don’t think dozens of strangers casting opinions on your personal life from the comfort of their sofa is what you need right now. Talk to someone in RL and come away from anonymous threads. You don’t seem in the correct head space for it at all.

Ragruggers · 06/11/2021 11:33

Sorry see you have nowhere to go does he?

Quartz2208 · 06/11/2021 11:33

You need to tell your family OP - this has the potential to escalate fast so I would get out now if it is rented

Thomasina79 · 06/11/2021 11:34

A loving partner would not have acted in this way; the rough sex and no condom are bad enough, but the hand at your throat! No! You deserve better than this so called man.

rainbowstardrops · 06/11/2021 11:34

He's in the police???!!!! He knows exactly what he's done and how serious this is.
I'm so sorry he's treated you so horrendously but you need to tell him to stay away.
To think this scumbag would have to deal with rape victims in his work role. Disgusting!

angryandscared1 · 06/11/2021 11:35

@Ragruggers

Sorry see you have nowhere to go does he?

He does yes

OP posts:
Lweji · 06/11/2021 11:35

What do I do when he comes home from work in a few hours?

Think instead of what you can do while he's out.

Call Rape Crisis.
Call Women's Aid.
Call the police (ideally a specialised rape unit).

See this:
www.gov.uk/report-rape-sexual-assault - it advises to call 999

category12 · 06/11/2021 11:36

Couldn't you go to your family? You don't have to tell them exactly what has happened, just that you need a break and want to see them?

MasterBeth · 06/11/2021 11:36

I am so sorry.

There are times when a couple’s sexual wants and boundaries can be miscommunication or misinterpreted, but this isn’t that.

I or my partner say “I’m not doing this thing” then we don’t do it. Basic sexual etiquette. The clearest possible withdrawal of consent. You clearly did not consent to sex without a condom. Quite the opposite.

Please take the morning after pill and heed the wise words on this thread.

DameFanny · 06/11/2021 11:36

He can still be in your baby's life even if you do report him, even if he did get convicted. His being a father won't stop.

But this is him escalating from general rough sex and shouting to actual rape and choking. What will he do next? What if he 'accidentally' kills you? Who's in your baby's life then?

Ragruggers · 06/11/2021 11:37

You have nothing to be ashamed of.It sounds as if you are afraid with good reason.Tell your friend you must get some support IRL.You are strong and in time you will see this.Thinking of you.

IAAP · 06/11/2021 11:37

I’m so sorry you were raped by someone you thought loved you.
Firstly - did he ejaculate into you- morning after pill. Personally I would report all of this to the police this was and is rape and aggressive rape as well.

Please contact women’s aid and the police and rape crisis - you deserve a partner that loves and cares for you

Threadbaretoe · 06/11/2021 11:37

I really feel for you OP. This is upsetting for you on different levels and you must feel pulled and pushed in different directions.

You have said a couple of things that make me wonder if he uses coercive techniques (consciously or unconsciously) to mess with your thinking. You have explained that on some level you are scared of him and in your most recent post you wrote ' He's never done something this bad to me before', suggesting he has done bad things before.

I am concerned that he unduly influences you about how to think about his behaviour and actions and now you have a load of people on the internet doing the same.

I expect it will be helpful for you to speak to a specialist in the area of domestic abuse and coercive control so they can help you unpack what is/isn't going on.

One episode of Jess Hill's podcast is all about police as perpetrators of abuse. In this podcast ex partners talk about how their work and training enables them to be manipulative in covering their behaviour (probably to themselves as well as others).

I hope this incident and the views you have seen on here are enough to encourage you to seek professional support and guidance.

DrBlackbird · 06/11/2021 11:39

I didn’t want to read this without saying I’m so sorry that he did that to you. Especially when still a new mum and going through stressful few months. It’s not an easy time Flowers

He can be a reasonably good dad and simultaneously someone who fundamentally doesn’t respect women/their voice. I imagine that his working environment does nothing to help him learn to respect women or even boundaries for that matter. The hand on the throat is incredibly worrying.

You should not have pretend everything’s okay. What happened wasn’t okay. It doesn’t sound like he understands that or wants to. I’m hoping that you have family that you can go to for the day. Maybe a few days.

DrBlackbird · 06/11/2021 11:40

@category12

Couldn't you go to your family? You don't have to tell them exactly what has happened, just that you need a break and want to see them?
This ^^
Honeyroar · 06/11/2021 11:41

Could you tell him you’re still upset and disgusted at him for his actions last night and his reaction to your comments this morning. Tell him you want him to go and stay somewhere else for a day or two while you get your head around the way forward. Don’t let him brush this off.

ChargingBuck · 06/11/2021 11:42

@angryandscared1

What do I do when he comes home from work in a few hours? I don't know what to do or say to him. I have nowhere to go either.
Sweetheart, you don't have to sit waiting in fear for him to return.

You have a few hours. Please call Rape Crisis now.
Make sure you tell them what he did, what his job is, that you have nowhere to go, & that he is due home in a few hours.

They WILL advise & support you.

LakieLady · 06/11/2021 11:43

@angryandscared1

I'm so overwhelmed by all the replies but I promise I'm still here reading them. I didn't get much sleep last night so just dozing in between reading and crying. Baby is sleeping thankfully as I need some headspace at the moment. I can't process it all to be honest. I can see that most of you class this as rape. That word made him so angry though I'm scared to say it again out loud to him. It's as though I'm in the wrong for saying it. I'm terrified to be alone with the baby as I don't know how I'd manage (he is a good dad despite all this and he helps out with the baby etc). I'm scared I wouldn't cope alone. Also he is in the police. I think reporting him would cost him his job. I don't want to do that to him. I am so torn and just feel violated and confused.
I'm so sorry this has happened to you OP and entirely understand your anxieties about how you would manage as a single parent. But you would manage fine, and undoubtedly better than you would living with a man who has raped you and who could do it again.

The fact that he's a police officer gave me chills. A rapist who is also a police officer should lose his job. If we learn anything from the death of poor Sarah Everard, it's that police officers who are misogynists are uniquely placed to commit sex crimes against women. And if he's a police officer, he damn well knows that what he did was rape.

Please speak to Rape Crisis or Women's Aid. This is a huge thing for you to deal with on your own, and you need someone who can help you through the next steps. Do you have a close friend or family member who can be with you to support you?

Flowers
Lweji · 06/11/2021 11:44

He will not care about how you feel about what happened.

This is a sad truth, but it is true.

He may go through the motions to prevent you from leaving and reporting him, even to say sorry if he thinks he will not get away with it. But everything you said about him, including his thread of "no sex", shows how awful he is. He has no regrets, and he will do it again, and it will get worse.

Your best course of action is to enforce your boundaries and leave him.

WonderfulYou · 06/11/2021 11:45

Pack some of his stuff up and text him now to say you don’t want him staying at the house tonight. That will give him chance to find somewhere else.

Does he have his own key?
I’d lock the doors and put his suitcase on the doorstep when he comes home so you don’t have any confrontation.
Do you have a friend who can come and stay with you?

It doesn’t actually matter whether he sees it as rape, sexual assault or stealthing or not.
The fact is he KNEW you didn’t want to do certain things, wanted him to be gentle etc but went ahead and did them anyway.
That means he has absolutely no respect for you.

ChargingBuck · 06/11/2021 11:50

My family are not close by and I don't want them to know about any of this, it just makes me feel so ashamed. I have a friend I could tell. House is rented, joint tenancy

You have nothing, NOTHING, to be ashamed of.

Everything that happened was caused by him
You have asked him time & again not to frighten you with his anger & shouting. He refused.
You have asked him time & again not to put his hands round your throat. He refused.
You have asked him time & time again to stop being rough. He refused.
You asked him time & time again to wear a condom. He refused.

This is not your shame.

I suspect that underneath your feeling of 'shame' is a lot of fear. That you are too frightened to talk to people about what he did, because he showed you so much anger when you rightly told him he raped you.

But you have been clearheaded & resourceful enough to talk to us.
You can talk to the friend you mentioned.
You can talk to Rape Crisis.
You will find that every time you do this, it also helps validate you, & reduce the shame he has forced you to take on just so that he doesn't have to face it.

The talking does become easier. (Been there, done that.)
And it reduces the shame until one day - wow! - you will realise that you are NOT ashamed. Because you are not a violent, angry rapist.

HappyDays101010 · 06/11/2021 11:52

He got angry because he is scared. He knows what he has done, and you calling it what it is - rape - made him see that he has risked his job and reputation. That scared him and he reacted angrily as the easiest way to silence you. He doesn’t want to talk about it because that would involve admitting what he has done.

A relationship where one person likes rough sex and the other doesn’t was never likely to last the course. You need someone you are more compatible with.

I think it’s a bit off to say a rape victim has responsibility to other women to report. The responsibility likes with men not to rape. The OP has no responsibility here at all. It would be very brave of you to report OP, and other women would thank you. But you must absolutely do what is best for you, either way.

Nanny0gg · 06/11/2021 11:52

@angryandscared1

If he is found guilty then he will receive a custodial sentence

This made me feel sick. I don't want this to happen to him Sad

He should have thought of that...
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