'I would dread it when the Euros were on'

Lisa knew the violence would increase when the football was on

Lisa met her partner Lee when she was 19 years old. One year later the violence began.

Not long after their son Josh was born, Lee tried to choke her with a dressing gown cord.

"He's knocked me out a few times, just from punches on my face. Out cold for hours on end," she told BBC News.

It was even worse when international football tournaments came round every two years.

"I would dread it," she said. "I used to walk the streets for hours, two and three in the morning, with small children, just because they didn't want to go home.

"Because the football was on and because England had lost. I knew exactly what was going to happen as soon as I walked through the door."

It is now well-established that reports of domestic violence increase during international tournaments.

Lisa's local force Sussex Police saw the number of 999 calls linked to domestic violence double during the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

It was Lisa's adult children Josh and Jessica who eventually persuaded her to go to the police after 29 years of violence.

Last year Lee pleaded guilty to controlling or coercive behaviour, and was jailed for 38 months.

Josh and his sister Jessica persuaded their mother to go to the police

Police think violence rises during international football tournaments because of alcohol and drug consumption, betting and frustration. In Lisa's case all four applied.

Lee was violent and controlling anyway, she said. He burnt her face with cigarettes. He regularly pushed her out of the car on the M25 motorway during family trips.

"He controlled every aspect of my life. Everything I wore, ate, where I slept, everything. With violence, that's how he controlled me," she said.

"I've had some horrible experiences in cars with him where I thought I was going to die."

'Monster on Stella'

But Lee was even worse when he was drunk.

"He was a monster on Stella," Lisa said.

"He just got 10 times worse," said her son Josh, sitting beside her during the interview. "We used to hide behind hedges watching the house, waiting for him to leave, so we could go home."

Every week Lee would bet on the football. He almost always lost. But it could be worse during the Euros and the World Cup

"I dreaded every day. I had to give him what he wanted. You know, even if the money was in my bank account, which it very rarely was, he would demand it so that he could bet on the football, on a tournament, these tournaments in particular, because it's easier to bet on countries than it is on teams."

'He's going to kill you'

"It got to the point for me whether I was going to take my own life, or he was going to take my life. So I had to do something. It was either me or him, basically.

"And then Joshua and Jessica, both turned around and said, 'Mum, you've got to do something, he's going to kill you.'"

Her daughter Jessica called the police, and Lee was arrested in September 2020. It took three years for the case to conclude but Lisa has no regrets.

"It's the best thing I've ever done," she said. "I know it's hard. So many tears I've cried. So many times I wanted to walk away and say I can't do it.

"I'm so glad I did. Honestly now it's the best thing - apart from having four children - it's the best thing I've ever done."

She added: "I'm actually looking forward to this tournament, so that me and my son can actually watch it in peace."

Police have been visiting women at risk of violence to give them advice and equipment like door jams and alarms

Police forces across the UK are offering help to women during Euro 2024 and the National Police Chiefs' Council is working with Women's Aid.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said that for women and children living with domestic abuse "major championships can leave them vulnerable to existing abuse becoming more severe and frequent".

In Sussex, officers and independent domestic violence advisors employed by councils visited around 50 women before the tournament who are known to be at risk of violence.

They have given them advice on what help is available and some have been offered equipment like alarms and door jams.

Using what is known as Clare's Law, they are also telling some women about their partner's previous history of violence.

Sussex Police Det Chief Insp Kelly Lewis said the force was "very good at relentlessly pursuing domestic abuse perpetrators" but "this piece of work is about preventing offences and protecting people".

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