While unpacking boxes after my move, I came across some handwritten notes from my former husband. They read: “I will always love you.” “You are the only one I ever wanted.” “You never deserved it. I am sorry.” I paused for a long time. If those words were true, why were they followed by years… Read More When Words and Actions Don’t Match
For the first time in many years, I feel calm. I feel loved. I feel peaceful. After months of endless paperwork, legal documents, bills, and administrative tasks that often seemed unnecessary, I have finally reached a place where I can simply breathe. The silence is no longer uncomfortable—it is healing. People often ask me whether… Read More Peace Is Priceless: Why Some Divorces Cost Far More Than Money
Today, I paused for a moment and realised just how far I have come. I am incredibly proud of myself for finding the courage to walk away from a life that no longer reflected who I was. Leaving was not easy. It took years of questioning myself, rebuilding my confidence and believing that a different… Read More Walking Away Was the Bravest Decision I Ever Made
One of the greatest fears many survivors have is what happens when a restraining order expires. Does the protection end? The answer is not necessarily. In Spain, the expiry of a restraining order does not automatically mean that all protection comes to an end. Where the authorities assess that a victim remains at risk, protective measures… Read More When a Restraining Order Ends: Protection Can Continue
For many survivors of domestic abuse, one question can be deeply unsettling: “What happens when my restraining order ends?” Many fear that the end of a court order means the end of their protection. Fortunately, that is not always the case. Protection Does Not Automatically End In Spain, the expiry of a restraining order does not… Read More What Happens After a Restraining Order Ends in Spain?
For many survivors of domestic abuse, receiving a protection order is not the end of the journey—it is the beginning of living safely again. In Spain, protection does not always stop when a restraining order is granted. In many cases, the Guardia Civil or National Police continue to provide ongoing protection through the VioGén (Sistema de Seguimiento Integral en los… Read More When the Court Order Ends, Protection Doesn’t: Understanding Ongoing Police Protection in Spain
This week has been one of the happiest and most meaningful weeks I have experienced in many years. It was my first full week in my new home. A home that, from the moment I walked through the front door eight months ago, felt as though it was waiting for me. I remember thinking, “This is… Read More Home Is More Than a Place – It’s Where Healing Begins
Throughout my life, I have been known for my tenacity, resourcefulness and resilience. Those qualities have carried me through some of the darkest chapters of my life. They have helped me survive when others believed I would give up. They have given me the strength to rebuild, to heal and to find peace. Now, those… Read More Tenacity, Resourcefulness and Resilience
For many perpetrators, the divorce decree or financial settlement feels like the final chapter. They believe the marriage is over, the paperwork has been signed, and they have escaped accountability. They assume that because the relationship has legally ended, the abuse has been buried with it. But for some survivors, that is not the end… Read More When They Think They’ve Got Away With It
The case is significant not only because of the extreme violence described, but because the court recognized that long-term intimate-partner violence can justify a substantial civil damages award. Justice Susan Vella of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded the woman $400,000 in damages after a nine-day trial. The decision followed a 54-year marriage in which the judge found… Read More Landmark Canadian domestic-abuse judgment.
