For almost 30 years, Andrea Smith lived her life in constant fear, knowing that at any moment, her husband David could be about to beat her.
She was told what to wear, who she could and couldn’t speak to, and he even timed how long it would take her to go to the shop.
If Andrea did something David didn’t like, she knew from just a single look that he was going to hurt her.
The assaults were often sustained, with Andrea suffering numerous injuries such as a dislocated jaw.
But David didn’t just stop there. He also raped Andrea numerous times, often when she slept.
Finally one day, after suffering in silence for almost three decades, Andrea told police about the abuse and David was arrested later that day.
But even now that he is behind bars after being convicted of numerous offences David still hasn’t relinquished his control over Andrea, making it impossible for her to sell the house they once shared.
Having dealt with the abuse in silence for 28 years, Andrea has now spoken out about what she experienced as part of our domestic abuse awareness campaign in a bid to help anyone else in a similar situation.
Негізгі бет Andrea's story: Raising awareness of domestic abuse
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