Most people have a story to tell about domestic abuse – a friend, a neighbour, a relative, or perhaps a terrible experience of their own. My great-great-grandmother was attacked by her husband when she was pregnant. The court report says she was hurt so badly “she could not sit or lie in bed”. Later he attacked her with a poker in front of her daughter.
The case went to court, and all that happened was that he was bound over to keep the peace. But the really shocking thing is that the protection afforded to my great-great-grandmother from the police and courts was still greater than many domestic abuse victims get today – and that was over 100 years ago.