When you are a survivor of domestic, sexual and/or physical male violence and abuse, we are often credited (as it should be) as a warrior woman, a superwoman, a survivor with exceptional emotional resilience. It is true, my Survivor tribe, the women that Destiny’s Child sing about never give up…

I am a big fan of Scandi Noir; its slow pace, lighting, language and complex stories where young girls and women are hunted and haunted, handmaidens for male physical and sexual pleasure and purpose. However, the past 24 hours has made me seriously evaluate my role as a woman, as…

I knew not but the next would be my final inch Emily Dickinson Each year in Poland nearly 500 women are murdered by men. During lockdown, calls made by Polish women and girls to domestic abuse helplines increased by 50%. Stories emerged of women being refused help by the police…

“Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth.” The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir In the Summer of 2018 the former First Minister for Wales, Carwyn Jones, MS, announced his…

Failing Family Court undergoes major reform following national review The announcement by the Ministry of Justice, Thursday, 25th June that there will be sweeping reforms to the Family Court system and process has been welcomed by many elected officials and organisations, and crucially welcomed by survivors of domestic abuse whose…

2020 has been one of the bleakest of years and it is still only June. However, on Thursday, 25th June, there was a rare ray of sunshine and a moment to celebrate for survivors of domestic abuse, following the Ministry of Justice for England and Wales announcing sweeping new reforms…

Recently a survivor of domestic abuse tweeted “I don’t want to be told I am strong. I want abusers to be held accountable. I want systems to respond appropriately to victims of crime. I want society to change its acceptance of abuse.” Immediately this tweet resonated with me and highlighted…

There is a beautiful Japanese pottery art form, Kintsugi — the golden repair, where potters mend the cracks and broken pieces of pottery with laquer dusted or mixed gold (or silver)powder. This technique transforms the broken into beauty. And today an “investment in myself” style of dress arrived, a gold…

Within the first week of lockdown in South Africa the police had received over 87, 000 gender based complaints whilst calls to the police dropped by 55% in Italy the first two weeks of March at the beginning of lockdown. This complex pattern has been replicated across the world from…