General Features

No longer dismissed as 'just a domestic,' abuse in the home is now considered a serious issue that a number of large organisations are working to eradicate.

Many women who have been abused have used their experiences to start support groups to help others who are suffering violent and destructive behaviour.

'You can't fight back'

One such person is Joan, who along with her daughter Liz, have been talking to BBC Radio Norfolk's Breakfast Show about how domestic violence affected their lives. 

Abused by her former husband for 12 years, Joan eventually got divorced and helped to set up the East Anglian Survivors' Enterprise (EASE), a voluntary organisation providing confidential support for people in violent relationships.

Joan knows better than anyone how difficult it is to gather the strength to break away.

"You're not in your right mind, you're being suppressed by this person," she said.

"For years they've dominated you. That's really the crux of domestic violence, the domination of one person over another.

"They just put you down and you get used to it. You can't fight back," she added.

Vivid memories

Daughter Liz also shares vivid memories of those turbulent years. 

"A lot of parents think the children don't hear it," said Liz. "They think they're in bed, asleep."

"But we did. We used to hide in the hallway and listen to it and watch the police come.

"Thirty years later it still affects me. If I hear people shout or if I see somebody putting someone else down, it brings back memories of what's happened in the past," she added.

Liz now helps her mum to run EASE, and it's been therapeutic for her.

"I've found that [it] has helped a lot because you're talking to other people who've been through it. You can talk about it without other people judging you," she said.

"Most of the people who come to us have been out of the relationship for four or five years and I think that just goes to show that people do need the support long after they've left a violent relationship."

Improvements in policing

The success of groups like EASE indicates that domestic violence is an issue that sufferers are no longer willing to keep quiet about.

Ali Hall is the manager of Leeway Norwich Women's Aid, a service which offers advice and refuge to abused women and works closely with a number of other agencies, including the police and social services.

"When I first started, Leeway supported 70 or 80 families a year," said Ali.

"Now we support in excess of a thousand every year, which is about [an increase in] reporting rather than more incidents," she added.

She believes that a greater acknowledgement of the extent of the problem has made a difference to those affected.

"There have been massive improvements in policing in the last five to 10 years," said Ali. "The responses we're seeing from police are much more coordinated.

"And there are a lot more agencies, like health professionals and other community groups, recognising that domestic violence is happening.

"Now there is more support for women and I think there's a greater understanding in the community as well," she added.