Latest data show that 1.7 million, 7% of women in the UK experienced domestic abuse in 2022. Or rather felt able to report it to the police. An increase from 1.3 million in 2020, post pandemic. One in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. This alarming percentage, recent high-profile and prolific perpetrators convicted or spared – Ryan Giggs, David Carrick, Mason Greenwood…
Sir Tom Jones himself is set to be banned in Wales. With two women per week killed by a partner or ex-partner, “She stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more” surely isn’t the ideal anthem for public events, sing-a-longs, weddings… The English language is rich in heritage evolved from centuries of invasions and influence. That evolution has…
The 2020 Olympics has been a triumph against the odds for the hosts, and for Team GB, but this event more than any also bought to the fore the mental health challenges the sporting elite face. Simone Biles supreme talent and unprecedented career success further crowned by her successfully beaming over Piers Morgan’s bile. No early adopter here, these recent testimonies made me finally sit…
BBC’s Newsnight and Bedfordshire police have this week highlighted a study that points to a tsunami of mental health conditions and struggles, a fairly predictable outcome following the circumstances of the last 12 months. Is this setting the scene for a mental health crisis, as the annual statistics are still set to be published by the ONS, NHS, HMIC to name a few? The headline…
Ryan Giggs should be considered innocent until proven guilty, but inevitably many eyes will be on this case as a rare high-profile charge of coercive control. Serial philanderer, his lack of respect for women is clear, and his not-guilty plea for both assault and coercive and controlling behaviour, possibly indicative of his assumed power and untouchability. Giggs wreaked havoc within his own family, and a…
As we look forward to spring, the relaxation of rules and return of some freedoms, there is a sense we’re on the home strait towards the lives we knew. Many aspects will surely return with time (and vaccines), but some are inevitably changed for good. The pros and cons of flexible working will still be debated, but there is a financial reality that many businesses…
The disappearance and death of Sarah Everard in March this year has created a sense of grief, horror, and fear in us all. The seemingly random connection of Sarah as victim to her perpetrator, like Libby Squire before her, brings home the vulnerability women face in their daily lives, and the stark reality of gender-based crime committed by strangers, let alone those known and trusted…
Refuge’s domestic abuse helpline regularly deals with some harrowing stories and offers a first step towards safety They’ve been psychologically controlled, abused and belittled and yet still many callers to the Refuge National Domestic Abuse Helpline are stoic – apologetic, even. Until, that is, they hear three simple words: “I believe you”. Then they often start to cry. “They’ve been led to think that any problems in…
