Domestic abuse victim sharing story to encourage others to seek support
A Gloucestershire woman says GDASS helped her and her children get to safety
A Gloucestershire woman who spent 10 years in an abuse relationship is sharing her story to help others seek support.
Lily, which is not her real name, experienced economic, physical and psychological abuse from her ex-partner.
Lily’s partner had broken her jaw and attempted to control her relationship with her children, only allowing her to speak to her daughter after 7pm.
She says her Children were the one’s who encouraged her to leave: “I think that without GDASS and without my children, and I'm not being dramatic, I would be dead now.
“I would've either done that myself or he would've done that.”
She added: “I didn't really realise that it was domestic abuse if I'm perfectly honest.
“I just thought that that was what I deserved and that was my life.
“I think it's more about making it less of a taboo subject and making it more of a subject that people feel freely to talk about.”
Support from Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) allowed Lily to move into a place of safety with her children and helped get her dog fostered while looking for a more permanent place.
Lily told Greatest Hits Radio her story at an event at Gloucester Guildhall put on by the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner as part of the 16 days of activism initiative.
The event included the screening of a film that highlighted the impact of domestic violence on the victims and those around them.
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Evans told Greatest Hits Radio why highlighting real people’s stories is so important: “As a person who’s involved in the system, we talk quite a lot about victims and survivors.
“We’ll talk about numbers and statistics and it’s really valuable to have that regular reminder that these are peoples lives we’re talking about, these aren’t just case numbers or incidents.”
If you’re affected by issues raised in this article, there is help available from your local domestic abuse service at www.womensaid.org.uk