It’s still happening!

Twenty five years ago I broke free from an extremely violent relationship.  When I look back at this bleak time in my past one of the most painful memories is not the broken bones, or the blackened eyes, but the thought that there did not seem to be anywhere for me to turn.  An obvious place to seek help is the Police but sadly my experience was one of total disappointment.

My partner was a career criminal who as it turned out had friends in high places, which made my plight extraordinarily difficult.  I did not know who I could trust and this only served to make me distrustful and unfortunately it made me appear to some family and friends fanciful at best and at worst paranoid.

Recently I heard about a Gold Coast woman who fled a domestically violent relationship.  Her ex partner was friends with a high ranking police officer.  Allegedly the police officer revealed her address to the ex partner, placing the woman at great risk once again.

In my book Soft Underbelly I mention the time when car loads of police arrived at my door after being called for help when I was being attacked by my partner.  My saviours left after being made aware who he was and who his high ranking police friend was.  Their parting comment was “don’t hit her anymore.”

A quarter of a century has elapsed and still I get angry whenever I think about this.  To hear the news of another woman being betrayed by a member of the police just brings it all back for me.