When I thought of her, the first memories to come were always agonisingly sentimental. Walking by the seaside in February, refusing to go home even though it was so cold that it made our fingers numb, or laying on our stomachs on the floor of my student flat, sharing a…

Coming to terms with the effects of abuse is a process that takes copious amounts of time and energy. Like many others who have been in my situation, I’ve personally spent a long time living in denial, making excuses for my abusers’ behaviour or blaming myself, if not repressing the…

From the perspective of someone who has experienced both emotional and physical abuse in a past relationship, I’ve always felt that discussion surrounding abuse is reductive and neglects crucial parts of the experience. Learning to forgive and forget is often considered to be the main priority. Whilst these are necessary…