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Blog

News and views from The Backbone Collective which advocates for women and children who have experienced violence or abuse and who are enduring further harm from New Zealand's Family Court. 

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Posts in Creating change
Invisible wounds - Psychological abuse cuts deep

TRUE STORY: One woman shares her experience of psychological abuse from her husband and the struggle she has faced to get safe. She reached out for help but no one believed her. She writes that friends, family, Police and those working in the Family Court do not understand psychological abuse and coercive control and the impact it has on victim-survivors. She hopes that more is done to improve the understanding of and response to psychological abuse so that other victim-survivors don’t go through what she has. She advocates that victim-survivors keep believing their own experiences are real and don’t give up demanding protection from abuse.

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He chose to violently assault me, yet I am the one who ultimately is paying the price. When will NZ take a stand and stop violence towards women?

TRUE STORY: A domestic violence survivor so moved by the current  collective grief and frustration about women being hurt and killed by men writes about her experience of abuse and her ongoing struggle to rebuild her life. She calls on New Zealanders to harness this collective grief, and stop normalising violence and abuse and start changing our attitudes and behaviour towards women.

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