Once I started to write Klaxon, I began to see stories about domestic abuse everywhere. Factual stories in the media, romanticised fictional accounts of coercive men, histories of the control and abuse of women and children that sit behind acts of terrorism. I became conscious of the stories that have always been there, but which I had barely heard or noticed in the past.
I remember listening to a story on the radio about domestic abuse in Russia. In February 2017 their Parliament adopted controversial legislative amendments which decriminalised first battery offences among family members – in effect reducing penalties for abusers and making victims who reported abuse vulnerable and isolated. The reporter recounted a number of harrowing stories, but the one that I cannot shake off (and if I am honest, I will remember for the rest of my life) is the account of the woman who reported her husband to the police after he beat her up. The police took no action and as punishment, her husband took her into the woods and chopped both her hands off.
Please don’t dismiss this story because it happened in another country – stories like this happen everywhere. They happened frequently – the levels of cruelty and violence may vary but they are all underpinned by a sense of entitlement and ownership of women. The more I hear, the more I wonder how on earth it is possible that we still have such appalling levels of violence and abuse of women in the twenty first century. Not only are things not improving, we seem to be going backwards and we are doing so without any real awareness or sense of shame.
Let me be clear, I am writing about the abuse of women. It saddens me that I have to add this caveat, but I will because almost every twitter posting I see about the issue seems to come with a slew of comments about the rights of men and a challenge that reporting about the abuse of women is somehow unfair to men. I might as well be clear from the outset, I know that women abuse men, but I also know that women are the victims in the majority of domestic abuse cases and this is what I want to write about.
That said, this is not a woman’s issue – it is a societal one, and it affects us all. Therefore, the power to change this lies in all our hands. We all have a role to play, whether its in the way we treat each other in relationships, the values we teach our children, the role we play within our communities and most importantly, our wiliness to challenge abusive behaviour and to challenge local and central government to ensure that we have the right legislative and economic support structures in place.
I don’t have the answers, but I want to find them.
Although Klaxon is a work of fiction, it’s a familiar story and I want to use it to raise awareness of how easily any of us can get trapped into an abusive relationship. I want to use the story to lay out the warning signs, in the hope that some readers will hear that Klaxon. That it will make them stop and think about their own situations – or (and this is important) the experiences of their friends and family – and to act early. Its so easy to assume that our friends, family members and work colleagues must be OK. They may be strong independent woman but that does not mean they are not vulnerable. Your support could save them (and their children) from years of pain.
I also want to use this blog to share thoughts and idea about things that we can all do to stop the normalisation of violence and abuse of women and children. I am following some excellent voices on twitter – and with their permission I will share their links (watch this space).
Please do comment and share resources or further reading
Dec 2022
KLAXON is a new novel and thriller about a woman seeking to escape an abusive and dangerous relationship. This Blog seeks to highlight issues around domestic violence and the sources of help for its victims. If you would like to find out more and to get involved with the blog or the promotion of Klaxon through book clubs and other means, please contact the Klaxon team.
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