Director’s Blog – Lisa Charlotte Davis
Business consultant, Victoria, described how –
“It was actually my Asian landlords who helped me escape in the end. People in the house had reported that they thought I was being abused, but they hadn’t wanted to tackle my husband directly because they thought it would make it worse for me, but they did go to the landlords and thankfully, the landlords just thought, “This isn’t any way to treat someone so we’re going to help her out.” So they enabled me to move into one of their other properties without a deposit because that’s the other thing, the financial control… I’d given up my job and he had all the money. He didn’t leave me any money. He’d leave me locked in the room without any food… I was definitely suicidal. I just couldn’t see any way out.”
This is such a powerful example of how speaking out literally saved the life of a domestic abuse survivor.
But what’s also really instructive about this example is the way in which the bystanders in this case spoke out.
They were really careful, mindful of the risk to the survivor in considering who to speak out to.
It’s also valuable to note the aspect of financial abuse here and the very practical way in which the landlord offered help in recognition of the situation Victoria found herself in with no money and therefore, without help, no way out.
Image credit : Lizzie Lovejoy
