Deserve to be heard

The night I got away, it wasn’t planned so I did not get a chance to think about what the steps would be after walking out the door. Mainly, because I believed I wasn’t ever getting out. No one can prepare you for leaving abuse, even if there are resources online – it is the […]

The recent lockdowns were hard for all. They were hard for me as I lost the freedom I had known only for a short time. It provided time without distraction which meant for me revisiting my past and the abuse which I would have preferred not to do. Time is not always positive. It really

This emaciated young girl stuck in a huge fishbowl reflects the repercussions of my abuse; often feeling alone, powerless, unable to breathe, lost and tiny. But the young girl continues to breathe regardless, as she is a fighter, she is a warrior, she is strong, capable, and empowered even when she doesn’t feel that way.

Amelia shared her story with us through Agenda – the alliance for women and girls at risk, working to build a society where women and girls are able to live their lives free from inequality, poverty, and violence. Agenda is part of the #DeserveToBeHeard Expert Advisory Group, which has brought crucial insight to ensure that

Dilly shared her story with us, through the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) – a specialist domestic abuse service run by and for Latin American migrant women living in the UK. LAWRS is part of the #DeserveToBeHeard Expert Advisory Group, which has brought crucial insight to ensure that the campaign centres the voices of

I was just 16 when I met him. I think because I was young, I didn’t really know what love should look like. Not love even – just what people should treat you like, in a friendship. To be honest the signs were all there if I look back on it. But I just wasn’t

I painted Frida Kahlo and changed her surname ‘Kahlo’ to ‘callar’ (meaning ‘to silence’ in Spanish). It translates as I won’t be silenced. I was supported by the Latin American Women’s Rights Service – a specialist domestic abuse service run by and for Latin American migrant women living in the UK. “Dias difíceis também passam São

Drumming helps me to tune out from the world around me and let me focus solely on the therapeutic rhythms that vibrate through the floor and up to the sky. It blocks out all the negativity of the world and makes me feel on top of it. [Image description: The back of a boy’s head,

‘Stairwell’, the poem reflects upon my strongest memory from the seven years of domestic abuse my mother was put through. Although I did not see a great deal of the abuse, there were endless nights when I heard it. Perching upon the stairs for hours hearing the verbal abuse that was thrown at her, sitting

This artwork was created by children and young people as part of Women’s Aid research for the No Woman Turned Away Project report – Nowhere to turn for children and young people: documenting the journeys of children and young people into refuges. It focuses on their experiences whilst their family was searching for a safe