'Violence against women and girls is an epidemic'

Jennifer Gilmour, who has experienced domestic abuse, wants to help others facing similar difficulties

A domestic abuse survivor said violence against women and girls has become an "epidemic".

Jennifer Gilmour, 37, from Hull, has written four books about her experience of an abusive relationship to help others who are facing difficulty.

Ms Gilmour said vigils in Beverley, East Yorkshire, and Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, which are being held later are a step towards "education" of the issue.

She said: "It's important to raise awareness in the hope to create preventative measures so that we're equipped as a community and as individuals."

Ms Gilmour compared a previous relationship to living in an "invisible prison".

"I almost think it's a slow erosion because by the end of that relationship, my identity had been stripped away from me," she said.

"I couldn't make my own decisions, own choices in life, right down to the clothes that I could wear or the work that I would want to do."

After leaving the relationship she was supported by domestic violence services and has spent "a vast amount of time recovering" and "rebuilding her identity".

'It does not discriminate'

In addition to her work as an author, Ms Gilmour has also become a public speaker at events across the UK.

She described feeling isolated and "almost alien" when she first "escaped" her relationship and was spurred on to help other people learn and recover.

"It [domestic abuse] is one in four women and one in six men. It's happening everywhere, it's an epidemic it does not discriminate," she said.

People will gather in Wednesday Market, Beverley, at 18:00 GMT for a walk of solidarity to Toll Gavel United Church, ahead of a vigil.

Ms Gilmour believes the event is a step in the process of tackling violence against women and girls, but believes "there are many more things to be done."

It will mark the start of 16 days of activism by charity White Ribbon UK, which works with men and boys to challenge harmful attitudes and behaviour.

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