NSW woman reveals she lived under home to avoid violent husband
A New South Wales woman who hid in her own home from an abusive husband has said her life may have been different if refuge shelter was more affordable.
‘ND’ slept under her house in Hunter for 18 months when her husband was home, surfacing only after he left to see her mother, daughter and go to work.
The domestic violence victim would, according to a Newcastle Herald report, hide in squalor under the house, where her mother and 15-month-old also resided, while her former partner was there.
Geelong woman murdered by violent partner in US
She continued to work and pay the bills, including a home loan, apparently unbeknownst to her husband, who didn’t reportedly question her disappearance.
“I wanted to leave but I couldn't find anywhere that would take all three of us," ND told Newcastle Herald.
"We didn't have anywhere else to go and I couldn't just leave my baby or my mother.
“I tried private rentals but they were too dear, I couldn't even afford the cheapest of the cheap. Plus, the home loan was in my name so I didn't have many options.
“I just disappeared one day and he had no idea, I was so, so quiet,” she added.
ND was the victim of brutal verbal and physical abuse that has left significant mental scars. Her husband left after she changed the locks one day and sent his belongings to his parent’s house.
"What kept me going was thinking, 'It's not always going to be like this, there will be a way,’” she said.
"Before I met him I was really strong and while he cut me down and hurt me, he didn't destroy me.
"If someone close to me raises an arm or makes a sudden movement, I'm jumping away so fast I could be in the Olympics," she continued. "He burned my eyebrows with a lighter so if anyone lights up near me, I'm on the other side of the room."
ND said lack of affordable accommodation is forcing women to stay in unsafe situations.
"If you're trying to get away, you don't want to be burdened with other people's troubles [in communal housing],” she said. "But without it [affordable accommodation] there, it does not give women many options after they leave.
"I know if I had it, my life could have been very, very different."
News break – November 24
