Latest news with #ThisIsNotRight
Metro
13 hours ago
- Health
- Metro
Halving violence against women and girls will require more cash, watchdogs say
More investment will be needed if the government wants to achieve its promise to cut violence against women and girls in half, Keir Starmer has been warned. A major spending review set to be announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves next week will decide budgets for government departments for years to come. Two senior government watchdogs have written to the Prime Minister to say those plans must include more funding for helping victims and survivors. Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, and Baroness Newlove, the Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, were behind the letter. According to BBC News, they wrote that with 'bold and ambitious investment, we can finally tackle the systemic stain of violence and abuse' and the 'cost of inaction is one this country can no longer afford'. They warned that 'piecemeal policies' were being caused by 'funding cuts and scaled back ambition'. The Home Office, which is responsible for victims, is reportedly still in negotiations with the Treasury over its funding deal in the review. Yesterday, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips pointed to extra investment in County Lines operations as she announced a plan to outlaw coerced internal concealment. Funding for the police, also controlled by the Home Office, has come under the microscope in recent days with Metropolitan Police head Sir Mark Rowley writing to the PM to express his concerns. In his letter, he warned any budget cuts would have 'far-reaching consequences'. Asked about his intervention, Reeves said: 'We will be increasing spending on police in the spending review next week, so that's not a decision or a choice that I would recognise.' More Trending Campaign group End Violence Against Women said on Monday they are 'yet to see any detail' on how the government's commitment to halving violence against women and girls will be measured. The coalition, which has worked with Metro on the This Is Not Right campaign, said: 'We need a plan from the top that sets out clearly how the government intends to tackle this national crisis.' Earlier today, Reeves tried to temper expectations ahead of her announcement next Wednesday by saying there were 'good things I've had to say no to'. The Chancellor said: 'Not every department will get everything that they want next week and I have had to say no to things that I want to do too.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Women who have a miscarriage in West Virginia could be prosecuted MORE: Boy, 14, 'hacked to death in an instant by man with Samurai sword' on way to school MORE: TikTok star Sana Yousef shot dead by man who repeatedly contacted her online
Metro
6 days ago
- Metro
Readers say spitting men can jog on along with racists and dogs on trains
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. I was disgusted to read Alice Giddings' investigation into how she was among thousands of women spat at by men while out jogging (Metro, Wed). The feature was part of Metro's This Is Not Right campaign to highlight the epidemic of violence against women and girls. In the same edition, you reported on Mark Keel, 33, who murdered his partner Maxine Clark after subjecting her and previous partners to mental and physical abuse. I am angered and saddened at these cowardly acts. I can only say that I am glad my time is running out as this is not the world I was raised in. Brian, Edinburgh I want to apologise to the guy on the train from Waterloo to Hastings at 9pm on Wednesday. The racist young guy shouting at you, telling you, 'When we get in, we're gonna get rid of you,' shouting about Reform and immigration, does not represent the views of most of us who had to witness that. You did really well to keep calm. Thank you to the conductor who acted quickly, too. Mike, Tunbridge Wells To the two guys on the Victoria line travelling north at Stockwell on Monday shortly after midday, who took up three seats because they sat a dog between them. You both knew this was unhygienic and prevented other people from having a seat. You both kept looking over at me because I had my transport uniform on. Please be aware that you are not the only ones who use the Tube. Noel, South London As a regular commuter on the railway from Hampshire to Waterloo, I for one am pleased my line has now been renationalised. But I do wish the staff would stop referring to the previous company name of South Western Railway! Not only is it free advertising for the former company of MTR and FirstGroup but it has the stigma of an atrocious service. Please, get the new livery, logos and name of Great British Railways out there as soon as possible. Fred, Hampshire UK governments go on about saving the environment. Well, here is a simple start. Cats kill 55million birds in the UK plus 220million small mammals every year. Introduce a tax of £300 a year for each cat and watch the numbers tumble. As an aside, it's one of the great mysteries of life but why do cats never mess in their own gardens? Clark Cross, Linlithgow Helen Shaw (MetroTalk, Wed) says it's 'insane' for politicians of different parties to want to limit the number of foreign students in the UK because universities can only survive through their higher fees. The problem is not that we have too few international students but that we educate too few British students here. Sensible countries such as Germany do not impose exorbitant tuition fees on home students. More Trending The answer is not to continue forcing our universities to be profit-making – an approach that is failing. We must invest in them as vital parts of our industrial infrastructure, working to develop Britain as an advanced industrial-knowledge economy. Will Podmore, London To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nigel Farage is the Pied Piper of politics with a dash of 'dodgy estate agent'. He'll say and do anything to get your attention and lead you astray. But when you take a look at his smoke-and-mirrors policies, he's more Liz Truss 0.2 than the second coming… and look where that got us. Guy Wilkins, London I told my doctor I couldn't stop stealing things. He said, 'Take these pills for a week and if they don't work, can you get me a 42in flatscreen TV?' Jeff, Nuneaton MORE: Live jazz, dinner and drinks in Mayfair: 10 unmissable Time Out deals MORE: The Metro daily cartoon by Guy Venables MORE: Spanish Grand Prix: McLaren on top but Lando Norris is still wary of Max Verstappen in F1 title race
Business Mayor
04-05-2025
- Business Mayor
My twisted father said he abused me because my mother didn't satisfy him
As I watched my biological mother brutally beating one of my siblings, I thought: 'Maybe this is a joke'. It wasn't but I was six years old. I didn't understand what was happening. My sister was screaming and crying, but nobody was doing anything. I had no idea, then, that I was facing years of physical, mental and sexual abuse at the hands of my biological parents. I was poorly as a child, having been born sick in 1982 – I needed injections three times a week at a hospital, something my biological parents couldn't afford, so I was fostered at 11 months old. The woman I always refer to as my mum took me in. She was married, with four children. I was so happy with her – there was love, laughter and safety. When I was six, my mum applied to adopt me. But my biological parents instantly said 'no' and came to take me home with them. My mum pleaded with them, telling them how unsettling this would be for me – but they didn't listen. I don't know why they were so insistent. I was both confused and terrified. This series aims to offer a nuanced look at familial estrangement. Estrangement is not a one-size-fits-all situation, and we want to give voice to those who've been through it themselves. If you've experienced estrangement personally and want to share your story, you can email My biological parents already had four children – and from the offset, it was an abusive environment. On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women. With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency. You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@ Read more: My mother would hit and beat all of us – I think she was a very angry person. It was almost as if she hoped one of us would give her a 'reason' to beat us. 'You looked at me in this way'; 'You didn't want to help me'. Once, I said I didn't want to go and see some family friends because I didn't feel well. She told everyone else to wait in the car – and my sister said she could hear me screaming from outside. We lived in a seventh floor flat. My bottom lip virtually disappeared, because my mother had busted it open. I still have a little piece of my ear missing, because she would bite it sometimes, and she'd use 'tools', like carpet beaters. Fortunately, my mum and I never lost touch. She promised she would always come and pick me up during the school holidays and she kept that promise – no matter how many days I had off from school, I'd spend them with her. But then I'd have to go back to my biological family. Throughout my childhood, I had nightmares, wet the bed and spent a lot of time in tears. My father didn't hit us, but he would brutally attack my mother. I'd almost be relieved when they argued – because if they were arguing, they weren't focusing on us. He also gave me a lot of unwanted attention. He'd give me very long hugs, and would say things like, 'Come and sit on my lap'; 'Come and give me a kiss'. I think my siblings felt jealous, because there was always rivalry to feel any sort of love from our biological parents. But eventually, we realised there was strength to be found if we stuck together. We promised we'd never 'tell' on one another. As I got older, the sexual abuse by my father got worse – but it was a long time before I truly realised what had been happening. My biological parents would talk about sex very crudely in front of us; how my mother couldn't satisfy my father, how he'd need to look for sex elsewhere. But sex was also 'taboo'. We weren't allowed to sit with male friends, or even watch a kiss on TV. So I grew up very unaware of what was, and wasn't, OK. When I was 16, my mother and sisters went away to prepare for a family wedding, leaving me and my father alone in the flat for a few days before I joined them. He abused me on a daily basis. I hated waking up. He'd come into my room and kiss me on the lips and touch my breast. He'd say things like 'your mother made me do it, because you look so much like her'. Ultimately, he attempted to rape me. I managed to get away by locking myself in the bathroom for… I don't know how long. It was all so confusing. I knew it wasn't OK; but at the same time, he'd say, 'You know I would never do anything to hurt you'. For a while, I even put it out of my mind – I didn't feel I deserved to be heard, or believed, or loved. My father would force me to look at myself in the mirror with no clothes on, saying things like 'You're so beautiful' – and then he'd tell me that my biological mother had denied him sex. 'What else am I supposed to do?' he'd ask. When I was 17, I moved out to live with one of my biological siblings, who was married but it took a long time for me to understand what had been done to me. If you're in need of help, contact NSPCC Childline, the UK's free, 24-hour helpline for children and young people, on 0800 1111. The main NSPCC Helpline is 0808 800 5000, and is operational between 10am to 4pm from Monday to Friday. After I moved out, I started spiralling. I didn't feel able to tell anyone about the abuse; not even my mum. I knew something wasn't right, but I couldn't put a name to it – and I felt a huge amount of self-loathing. I couldn't be near a full-length mirror; I couldn't look at myself with clothes on, let alone without. I developed an eating disorder and I self-harmed, too. When I was 19, I moved to the UK to study, where I met and married my former husband. His parents were very loving, and I think I just wanted to belong to a family like that. My eating disorder continued for over two decades, and I continued self-harming while I was married. My marriage started to crumble but throughout, I saw and experienced family love that was natural and pure. And I started to understand that what had been done to me wasn't right. What my father had done was a crime. With my in-laws' support, I found the strength to report him to the police. He was arrested and charged with multiple other counts of similar allegations – but he didn't go to jail. Read More Meet the Musk tribe – who are Elon Musk's 12 children? After that, I hit rock bottom. My marriage ended when I was 28 and, for a while, I had no support. I kept in touch with my mum daily when in the UK, and saw her several times per year; we were incredibly close but I didn't want to worry her. I felt that my biological siblings had turned against me. After my father's court case, I completely cut ties with my biological family. Eventually, I sought therapy, which was transformational. I learned to talk, and share, and find the small wins in every day, even 'You woke up today, well done'. I prayed a lot during this time, too. My faith in God had never wavered, but I spent a long time feeling alone and abandoned. Prayer really helped. I met my now-husband when I was 29, and we're very happy. We have two wonderful children; I have a fantastic job; and I love my life. Now, I'm thankful for the trials I've been through. If my life had been different, I wouldn't be who I am today. For anyone else who's at rock bottom as a result of abuse, the key for me was forgiveness. This doesn't justify or minimise what's been done to us but if we forgive, it doesn't hold us down any more, or define who we are. Also, my mum always said 'gratitude is the key to happiness', and I firmly believe it. I wake up every day with a thankful heart for a day of life. Ultimately, what it really comes down to is: We are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. If you find that strength and channel it into something good, you can change the world. As told to Izzie Price MORE: I came out – 10 years later I had to do it again MORE: I didn't know why I was uncontrollably sobbing – then came the diagnosis MORE: I was 11 when my parents were told to plan my funeral
Metro
21-04-2025
- Metro
My daughter took her own life to escape her abuser
Chloe met the man who would become her abuser at school (Picture: Sharon Holland) Sitting by my daughter's bedside, one question played on repeat in my mind: 'How did we get here?' For four generations, I'm sad to say, domestic abuse has been a plague that's followed my family – and Chloe was its latest victim. She had been silently suffering physically, mentally and emotionally for over a year, and now, my beautiful, outgoing girl was laying motionless in a hospital bed following a suicide attempt. 'How did we get here?' I knew the answer. She felt it was her only way out. According to research, included in a new report by the Woman's Trust, at least two women a week are dying by domestic-abuse related suicide, and devastatingly, in March 2023, Chloe became one of those women. We must do more to eradicate this silent killer. Chloe met the man who would become her abuser at school. But I only learned of his existence after he tried to add me as a friend on Facebook when she was 20. 'Do you know who this is?' I asked her. 'Yeah,' she replied. 'He's a weirdo, just ignore him.' I got a nagging feeling that this was only just the beginning of his abuse (Picture: Sharon Holland) So you can imagine my surprise when, just two years later in May 2022, she announced to me that they were now in a relationship and had been since the previous December. It wasn't unusual for Chloe to be cagey about her relationships, she'd always liked to keep things private, but that night I think I discovered the real reason why… 'He's just slapped me.' She said, sniffing, over the phone. I didn't get a chance to ask any questions though as the line abruptly went dead. This Is Not Right On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women. With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency. You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@ Read more: Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign Remembering the women killed by men in 2024 Knowing he was likely behind the dropped call, I wanted to phone the police but, as I didn't know where they were, all I could do was imagine what happened next. When Chloe called me back 24 hours later, she brushed the whole thing off. 'It's nothing. We were drinking. We always argue when we drink,' she said, as if that excused anything. As someone who grew up around domestic abuse, and who had experienced it first hand in her own relationships, my heart sank and I got a nagging feeling that this was only just the beginning of his abuse. She even stopped turning up for her scheduled supervised visits with her son (Picture: Sharon Holland) Sadly, I was right, and over the next few months I watched helplessly as this man slowly chipped away at her. She stopped dressing the way she wanted because he insisted he liked it better when she 'covered up' and she became more isolated from her friends. She even stopped turning up for her scheduled supervised visits with her son – who lives with me. Sometimes she made excuses, others it was because she had a black eye or some injury, which meant social services literally couldn't let her see him. Naturally, I tried on several occasions to talk to her about all this, tried to get a sense of what was really going on behind closed doors and how best to help her. But when I did, she'd either clam up or get annoyed at me. Then, in August 2022, Chloe sent me a picture of her with another black eye and a message that read: 'I've left him now.' I'm not ashamed to say that I let out an audible sigh of relief. He threw a brick through a window and when she went out to confront him, he hit her again (Picture: Sharon Holland) With him out of her life, Chloe was able to get a place in a women's hostel in a new city and start over and soon, she began looking and behaving like her old self. She was happy and I felt we'd finally turned a corner. However, that nagging feeling still remained and a month or so later, be it out of concern or curiosity, I found myself scrolling through his profile on Facebook. I learned that his nan had died and, before I even thought about it, I repeated this information to Chloe. While I urged her not to reach back out to him, she, of course, ignored me and posted a heart on his status. I thought that was it, but then from October onwards, things started to go wrong for her again… In November, Chloe was kicked out of the hostel. When I asked why she said he'd 'found her'. He threw a brick through a window and when she went out to confront him, he hit her again, leaving her with a head injury and needing to go to hospital. For the safety of the other women staying there, she was asked to leave, which left her with no choice but to move to a hotel where, sadly, the same thing happened again. He 'tracked her down', assaulted her and then she was asked to leave. He gave her another black eye right before Christmas – causing the visit with her son to be cancelled – but I was confused as to how as I believed she'd been avoiding him deliberately. At first, she told me she'd 'bumped into him', but when I pressed her on the matter she eventually confessed she'd been in the area he lived on purpose. Chloe had reached breaking point though, leading her to attempt to take her life three times (Picture: Sharon Holland) I was so cross with her for putting herself in danger like that, unnecessarily. She just needed to walk away, she'd done it before. It took a few weeks but eventually she did cut him off again. I thought that was finally it, that she'd now wash her hands of him for good. However, his hold on her seemed impossible to break and despite him constantly texting and taunting her with nasty messages, Chloe continued to see him in secret – something which caused a rift between her and her sister, Madison. By January, Chloe had reached breaking point though, leading her to attempt to take her life three times. On two occasions she was found or stopped just in time by members of the public or friends and family. But on February 1 2023, we were all too late. It took the police 20 minutes to find her, and when they did, one of them had to resuscitate her on the scene. From there she'd been rushed to hospital where she was put on life support and, at her bedside the next morning, her consultant told us that there was only a 5% chance she'd come back from this. I was devastated, heartbroken. Over the next month I spent almost every waking moment by her bed. Learn more about domestic abuse in the UK One in 4 women will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives ONS research revealed that, in 2023, the police recorded a domestic abuse offence approximately every 40 seconds Yet Crime Survey for England & Wales data for the year ending March 2023 found only 18.9% of women who experienced partner abuse in the last 12 months reported the abuse to the police According to Refuge, 84% of victims in domestic abuse cases are female, with 93% of defendants being male Safe Lives reports that disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic abuse as non-disabled women, and typically experience domestic abuse for a longer period of time before accessing support Refuge has also found that, on average, it takes seven attempts before a woman is able to leave for good. I watched as doctors ran test after test on her. The rise and fall of her chest as the machines helped her breathe became almost hypnotic. And, as I say, all I kept thinking was 'how did we get here?' There was only one answer though: He had pushed her to breaking point. His abuse, his control over her made her feel she had no other way out. He may not have pulled a trigger or anything like that, but he killed her. And yet there was no way to convict him of that. Police assured me that they would do all they could to secure a conviction though, and they'd be able to do just that with Chloe's help as, unbeknownst to me, two weeks prior to her suicide attempt, she had given a two hour video statement to police. My brave girl. Because of that, and the overwhelming picture and text evidence she gave them, police were eventually able to arrest and charge Marc Masterton with coercive and controlling behaviour. Chloe's abuser was jailed for 41 months for coercive and controlling behaviour (Picture: Sharon Holland) While I wanted to celebrate this minor victory, on Monday March 6, Chloe was taken off life support and slowly, painfully, slipped away. I was utterly heartbroken, yet, I wouldn't allow myself to grieve until justice was done. During the court case, we learned that, not only had he controlled her appearance, who she spoke to and committed a host of assaults, on numerous occasions he was the one telling Chloe to take her own life. On one occasion, following an assault on her with a dumbbell, he handed her a knife and ordered her to harm herself. And during the attack in the hotel he actually said: 'Say goodbye to your son'. Thankfully, in October 2023, Chloe's abuser was jailed for 41 months for coercive and controlling behaviour but I will forever be scarred by the details we heard and the thought of what he put my darling daughter through. Find out more about Women's Trust Woman's Trust is a specialist mental health charity that has provided free counselling and therapy for over 20,000 women and families who have experienced domestic abuse. For more information, visit: Since then he has also been given a further three years and seven months in prison for the same offence against another partner. While I'm glad he's behind bars – and that there are now public records of the kind of 'man' he is and what he is capable of – it's not enough. I suspect Chloe felt her only other options were kill or be killed. She should not have felt she had only one way to escape, yet I've since learned that many women feel that way. Currently, half of all suicide attempts by women are linked to domestic abuse so we have to find a way to change that. That's why I welcome the news that the Woman's Trust is calling on national and local governments to start prioritising and funding specialist and long-term mental health services specifically for survivors in order to address this significant, but largely invisible killer of women. I've seen first hand the consequences for those who are being denied potentially lifesaving support so I know more needs to be done to support vulnerable people in, or who have experienced, abusive relationships. Perhaps if this help existed already, Chloe would still be here. I'd still have my daughter and my grandson would still have his mum. Instead, there'll always be a part of our family, a part of our hearts, that is missing. As Told To Emma Rossiter Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. 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