Married at 18 to a Metropolitan Policeman I was continually beaten for five years – on several occasions hospitalised (I was too frightened to say how I got my injuries as he threatened “to shoot the kneecaps off of me” !) I managed to escape and go into hiding. He heard I was working in a restaurant in South West London (I was living above one) and in uniform with a picture of me he visited every restaurant showing my picture saying I was wanted by the police. On the day of the divorce court hearing for mental and physical cruelty the court was closed to everyone so no journalists could report the case and I was escorted in by a police officer who told me after the hearing that it was the first time he had been ashamed to be in the police force. We lived in police quarters and despite hearing my screams and seeing my black eyes, broken nose and other injuries, he was never reprimanded and no one helped me. All these years later I am so angry that nothing has changed.
Constabulary: Metropolitan Police Service
Timespan: 1967-1972
Did you report it to the police?: No
Your ethnicity: White British
Have you experienced suicidality due to this?: Thoughts/feelings
Are you disabled as defined under the Equality Act 2010?: No
