ABUSE
Don’t stay silent
“I knew that if I stayed any
longer he would kill me,”
Grace* told us. She was
the victim of domestic
abuse but has bravely
shared her story with us
to help anyone going
through something similar.
I
ncidents of domestic abuse tend to
increase during the family stresses
of the ‘festive period’ and the
international 16 Days of Action
Against Domestic Violence runs between
25 November and 10 December.
“It sounds like such a cliché but
when I first met my husband, he was
the perfect gentleman,” Grace said.
But, when her husband moved to
Scotland for work, things changed.
“I was stunned the first time he
verbally abused me over the phone,”
*Name changed to protect her identity.
she remembered. “He accused me of
being with other men, would scream
down the phone and called me
abusive names.”
However, Grace decided it was out
of character and moved up to be with
her husband: “As crazy as it sounds,
I thought it was down to the pressure
and frustration of not being together
all the time for the first time.”
‘HE WOULD PUNCH AND CHOKE ME’
It turned physical when they were
reunited, and Grace said: “He would
punch and choke me, spit at me and
threaten to kill me.”
In the end, she was forced to face a
harsh truth: She had to find help and
run before the escalating violence
became fatal. However, he was not
going to let her go easily.
A charity called Hestia, and
Grace’s family, came to her aid,
and you can read her full story at
ealingnewsextra.co.uk/features/abuse
Domestic abuse can come in different
forms, not only physical violence. It can
also be emotional, financial or sexual.
In fact, domestic abuse is defined as
any controlling, coercive, threatening
or violent behaviour, by someone who
is, or has been, an intimate partner or
a family member, regardless of gender
or sexuality.
MORE INFO
If you urgently need to
go a place of safety, call
the National Domestic
Violence helpline on
0808 2000 247. It is open
24 hours a day.
For details of other organisations
that can help locally, including
Hestia; and also advice on what
to do if you find yourself in a
similar situation to Grace, visit
ealingnewsextra.co.uk/features/
abuse
around ealing December 2018
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