A woman lies on a bed as she talks to her partner at a furniture stand during a wedding exhibition in downtown Shanghai June 16, 2013. As couples celebrate the "Qixi" festival on Tuesday, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day, millions of wo
A woman lies on a bed as she talks to her partner at a furniture stand during a wedding exhibition in downtown Shanghai June 16, 2013. As couples celebrate the "Qixi" festival on Tuesday, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day, millions of women face stark choices in a society where traditional ideas about matrimonial hierarchy run up against huge economic and social changes sweeping the world's most populous country. There are plenty of men to go round among China's nearly 1.4 billion people but social status can conspire against single professional women, sometimes making it difficult to find a partner. Picture taken June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY)
A woman lies on a bed as she talks to her partner at a furniture stand during a wedding exhibition in downtown Shanghai June 16, 2013. As couples celebrate the "Qixi" festival on Tuesday, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day, millions of women face stark choices in a society where traditional ideas about matrimonial hierarchy run up against huge economic and social changes sweeping the world's most populous country. There are plenty of men to go round among China's nearly 1.4 billion people but social status can conspire against single professional women, sometimes making it difficult to find a partner. Picture taken June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY)

Despite the topic being embarrassing, 26-year-old Sarah Tetley is encouraging women to speak about marital abuse.

In August, her husband, Charlie, was sentenced by a court to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to five counts of rape, attempted rape, eight counts of assault by penetration, three counts of sexual assault and 10 counts of making indecent images of children.

Sarah was raped in her sleep by Charlie more than 300 times, but she became aware she was being sexually violated by her husband only when she once woke up in the middle of the night while he was raping her, reports People.

The frequent sexual molestations explained why she often woke up feeling drowsy.

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Sarah sought the help of the Leicestershire Police, who discovered when they searched the house 316 videos that were evidence of Charlie's assault on her and household objects that her husband used in his sexual practices.

"It was quite disturbing. In a couple of videos I watched you couldn't hear me breathing, and I didn't really appear to be moving at all. I did look like I was dead in some of them," People quotes Sarah.

The abuse was over a period of two and a half years.

Since her husband's arrest, Sarah suffered from panic attacks and had trouble sleeping for about five months. With the help of counseling, she has moved on and is in a new relationship with her neighbour.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au