When your honest with your self you set yourself free
This poem is about a woman’s journey to free herself from Domestic Abuse
There is always a way out of tre darkness , just follow the light inside and be brave ❤️
He just went through my phone every time I was in the shower, Provoking fights that would last for hours, Always apologizing with a bouquet of flowers. He didn’t hit me. He just hated all my friends. Told me they were no good and that I should just stay in. He was careful to always remind me I was unworthy, And any time I spoke to a man, he would accuse me of being flirty. He laughed, saying no one else would ever love me, Making me feel nothing but useless and ugly. He didn’t hit me. He would just break my things on the rare occasions I decided to go out, Coming home to his aggressive shouts. He just deleted all my contacts who were men, Telling me to never speak to them again. He didn’t hit me. He just wouldn’t listen when I said no, Every day stealing a little more of my glow. He would criticize my appearance, Calling me stupid, every day weakening my resilience. He didn’t hit me. He would just threaten his own life when I would try to leave, A burden no 19-year-old should receive. He didn’t hit me. He just made me hate myself every day. Worried how the hell I would get away. He didn’t hit me. Until one day, he overheard a call. Hearing that I was leaving, he pushed me toward the wall. But, he didn’t hit me.
The Hope Gala Ball is raising money to help survivors of domestic abuse move forward. There’s only 7 days to go, a few tickets are still available, just head the Ball page for more information.
I first shared this in August last year but from the conversations I’m hearing I think it needs sharing again.
Clarity – clarity is absolutely everything, when life is throwing things at us and we become unclear everything is blurred, your vision, your judgement, your future, everything.
This Windrush Wednesday I’m not going to say very much, I’m going to leave it all to Professor Laura Serrant OBE and her Poem You Called and We Came.
Her words are incredibly powerful.
Whilst I’m talking about Windrush, ITV have a programme on tomorrow night at 9pm made by Pride of Britain celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Windrush, I don’t know if it’s any good I haven’t seen it, but if you don’t know much about Windrush and why I talk about it a lot then it might be worth having a look, I’ll give it a look and pray that they do justice to our amazing Windrush generation.
There are still a few tickets left for the Hope Gala Ball, as part of the ball we will be hosting an exhibition of the forgotten Windrush men and women who were a crucial part of World War II.
Just head to The Hope Gala Ball page if you’d like to know more about that’s happening on the day and to purchase tickets.
Valerie’s law is a proposal to tackle domestic abuse specifically among black communities, through a process of cultural competency training for the UK police force and it’s related bodies.
It’s named Valerie’s law after Valerie Forde who was murdered together with her 23 month old daughter Jahzara by her ex partner in 2014.
A few weeks before the murders took place Valerie had reported his threats to the police but they has been recorded as a threat to property rather than live. The police had come to the home after Valerie called 999 but left after allegedly knocking and hearing no answer. Entry to the home is said to have taken 40 minutes, during which time the murders took place.
What happened to Valerie and her daughter highlighted a severe knowledge gap when it comes to the black community and it’s domestic violence victims by the police force and related services such as hospitals.
The campaign aims to see specialist training introduced as standard practice for service providers, in order to help them better navigate domestic abuse within black communities, to better understand the cultural nuances and barriers, colloquialisms, languages and customs that make up the diverse black community.
The law still hasn’t been passed through parliament yet, but there is building pressure to make sure that it WILL happen eventually.
If you need help reporting or recovering from domestic abuse then please take a look at http://gemcic.co.uk, or drop me a message, help is out there.
