"He'd kick me out and I'd have nowhere to go" - Kate's story of lockdown domestic abuse
She's bravely spoken out as part of our #OnTheInside investigation
Last updated 29th Sep 2020
Domestic abuse survivors in South Yorkshire are sharing their lockdown horror stories in the hope of shining a light on how bad the situation is.
Our On The Inside investigation this week is revealing what's been happening behind closed doors and looking at what's being done to protect victims.
Kate, whose name we've changed to protect her identity, is just one of the hundreds who've been suffering at the hands of an abuser during the coronavirus pandemic.
She was with her partner for more than a year - the abuse started off with controlling behaviour but soon turned physical:
"It started off quite subtle really - I wasn't allowed my phone on silent, I'd fall asleep and he'd go through my phone. And then as we progressed into the relationship, things started to get worse and worse.
"He started pushing me, pulling doors into me and then it progressed to pushing me to the floor and kicking me, elbowing me, throwing food in my face, throwing water in my face, spitting on me."
Like many for others, lockdown made Kate's sitaution even more intense.
When the clashes with her partner bubbled over and she was forced to leave, she ended up just walking the streets:
"It just started to get worse and worse. He'd kick me out and I'd have nowhere to go. I couldn't go to my parents' houses, I just had to wander around until it was ok for me to go home again.
"It was horrible. But sometimes it was better to be out of the situation than to stay there and be around it because it'd progress and get worse.
"When I was at work it was sort of my safe place - I could go there, get away from it all. It made it a bit easier. But then when I stopped work and I was just there all the time I had nowhere to go really.
"Before lockdown I could have gone to see one of my parents or gone to a friend's house or gone out somewhere but obviously I couldn't do that. There was nowhere for me to go really."
Eventually everything got too much for Kate - she cut ties with her partner and moved out.
"The last weekend before I moved out, there was a night where we'd been up till whatever time and he'd been doing whatever to me and it made me think this isn't right.
"It'd been going on for five days straight, going through my phone, accusing me of doing things. He'd set it up on my phone so he could follow my GPS.
"I just thought this is getting out of hand now, I can't do this any more."
You can find links to domestic abuse support here.