A WEST Belfast woman who suffered domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-partner has called for reform of the court system, saying it is "retraumatising" victims.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, is still required to come face-to-face with her ex-partner in the courts, over ten years after they split up.
The Stormont Executive’s 'Strategic Framework for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls' programme was launched in January. While the woman welcomed the initiative, she says more needs to be done.
"I was in a professional job and the world was my oyster before I was subject to domestic violence and had to come out of work," she explained.
"There was no Clare’s Law when I was with my ex. The legislation gives you a right to know if your partner has an abusive past.
"The law had not made it to Northern Ireland yet. Little did I know that he was on probation for domestic abuse and failed to disclose this information to me. My life could have been so different.
"Every day I suffer as a result of being with a violent man, even though we split up when I was pregnant with my child over 12 years ago.
"The abuse continued despite us being separated. I believe you can never escape an abusive ex when there are children involved.
"In light of a recent campaign on ending violence against women and girls, I have come forward to try and help others and advocate for change."
The victim repeated visits to the courts are retraumatising her.
"For me, my abuse is emotional now in the form of the court arena. The current system is so broken that it is having a severe impact on the mental health of women.
"It allows male perpetrators to use the court system to further abuse their victim.
"For over ten years this man has been allowed to place application after application in the family court centring around custody of our child.
"I was summoned to court two days before Christmas. I know the timing was deliberate.
"These multiple court cases continue to have a detrimental effect on my physical and mental health.
"This man also represents himself sometimes in court. It means I come face to face with him in the courtroom and he is allowed to question me. If he has representation, I only have to listen to his barrister.
"The sound of his voice is triggering for me.
"I have been left broken by these constant battles in the courtroom. I deserve to live a peaceful life without the dread of when the next summons will be.
"I am being retraumatised by the court system. Things needs to change. There needs to be more protection for victims.
"I want to give a voice to the voiceless because I know there are many more victims out there like myself."
