It's Your Turn To Cook

Following on from Sky's story, which I posted yesterday, Here is a link to a Canadian newspaper article which discusses the Canadian government's plans to expand protections for people in abusive intimate partner relationships, to include Coercive Control.  The United Kingdom has already made such changes to their law, recognising coercive control as an element of dometic abuse. I hope Canada will soon follow suit. A relationship doesn't always have to be physically violent for it to be abusive, or dangerous.  Women's Aid UK describes Coercive Control as "an act or a pettern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim." You can read about Coercive Control here on the Women's Aid website. Here's their list of examples of coercive behaviour, so you can find out if it's happening to you: * Isolating you from friends and family * Depriving you of basic needs, such as ...

I am in the process of compiling links to resources that are of help to those trapped in abusive relationships, those who have left abusive relationships, and their friends, families and allies. Eventually. I hope to make available an alphabetical list, but for now, I will post about each resource I find individually. Domestic Abuse and Violence is an international crisis which crosses international borders. It happens everywhere and can happen to anyone. So I hope to include resources for people in different countries in need of support.  I will add to the list as I research the many different organisations available. My list will be by no means comprehensive, so bear with me and feel free to add the details of organisations which were helpful to you in the comments.  Love is Respect (USA): here is an absolute gem of a resource. It's a wealth of information on how to support someone who is suffering abuse and even has information on how to support a friend who is abusive the...

I didn't know Sky, but I feel compelled to share her story. It could have happened to any of us.  Reading the words she wrote before her death, at only 27 years old, shook me. There were so many similarities in our stories. There always are in the stories of the victims and survivors of domestic violence. Always. In writing her story, Sky hoped to change the law in her home country of Canada, to expand the protections for people suffering abuse in intimate partner relationships. The police and the law let Sky down. Had she been able to get a restraining order to protect herself from her violent, abusive ex partner, she may well have been alive today. She was left completely at the mercy of her deranged ex. If you are reading this because you have concerns that your own partner is being abusive towards you, maybe you will recognise the signs of coercive control in Sky's story.  No one deserves to be abused within an intimate relationship. I hope that anyone who is struggling...