Aisha had been experiencing emotional and physical abuse from her husband for many years. After one particular incident, she reported him to the police and gave permission for her contact details to be passed to Leeds Women’s Aid.
When we contacted Aisha, she was filled with self-doubt and inse curity. She doubted her choice to even contact the police. Our support workers reassured Aisha that she was absolutely right to have reported the abuse.
Aisha told us that her husband had systematically isolated her from her family over the years they had been married. He could be abusive to Aisha both physically and emotionally.
He controlled the family finances, so Aisha did not have any money of her own.
“He told me he would kill me if I tried to leave”
Our advisor spoke to Aisha about the support that we could offer. Aisha didn’t know what to expect when speaking to the police and she wanted support to understand the process.
We transferred her to the IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate) Team, who found out that her husband had been charged with various offences, including assault.
The IDVA team were able to provide support to Aisha with the criminal charges brought against her husband. We kept her updated during the course of the criminal justice case; explaining the process every step of the way.
Eventually, the case went to trial and with the support of her IDVA, Aisha felt able to give evidence in court. Her husband was found guilty of the charges against him. A Restraining Order was granted as part of his sentence preventing him from contacting or approaching Aisha giving her additional protection.
“My IDVA always made me feel at ease, I cannot thank her enough for being there for me through my process and my problems. Also, at court she was amazing all the way through and always rang up and checked in on me and made sure I was okay. She was very understanding and listened to all my concerns.”