'My husband strangled me and tried to pull out my teeth' - Domestic abuse survivor recounts ordeal
UTV's Sarah Clarke sits down with Dr Julie-Ann Walkden who survived an abusive relationship as she speaks about the pain of enduring assault from someone you love
A survivor of domestic violence has been re-living the moment she believed her husband was going to kill her.
Dr Julie-Ann Walkden remembers the horrifying moment she was beaten by her husband so viciously that he broke her teeth and left her bleeding profusely.
Dr Julie-Ann Walkden speaks to Sarah Clarke about the assault and the support she received to rebuild her life.
Its seven years ago now Julie-Ann and I understand it's still very difficult to relive the traumatic experience but can you tell us what happened?
I literally came home from work in the evening and was very happy but within a very short period of time my then husband had threatened me and said that he was going to finish me.
And when I turned to look at him, he charged towards me with his arms outstretched and strangled me.
When I came round, he was trying to pull my teeth out and he was bludgeoning me and to the point where I was becoming unconscious.
Then my daughter came across it and screamed and it was screaming that both brought me around and also stopped his actions.
So it was one single, very, very violent attack that I suffered.
And do you believe, Julianne, that your husband could have killed you that night?
Yeah, my haematologist actually said he thought it was very lucky that I survived the attack because I'm on blood thinners and yes I did bleed a lot because of the incident and that's what happened after that.
Your husband was eventually convicted of the assault but directly after the assault and after being hospitalised if you can explain the process? How much of a journey is that to be on?
The police came very, very quickly and took him into custody. And he was taken to Maghaberry prison.
I was admitted into hospital and then to the care of a friend and then home.
The police wanted them to make sure I was safe and warned me that he was likely to be bailed and they gave me the contact number for Women's Aid.
They were brilliant. I can't say the same of the criminal justice system.
So in a very short period of time when he was bailed and Women's Aid were able to pick up the pieces.
I was taken with my two young children into a refuge. And I lived there with them for about six weeks.
And just how important was it to have an organisation like Women's Aid that you could reach out to in that period of time?
It was absolutely essential. I mean, when you were in a state of confusion, when you thought you had a stable, happy life and that there were no problems and to be really injured - very, very seriously by someone that you loved and you thought loved you.
It is a very devastating thing to go through.
So to have an organisation such as Women's Aid who are able to pick up the pieces and to give you a place of safety and to help and understand what happened and to understand protective behaviours and in future to recognise other behaviours.
To give you and, you know, support, but also to work with the children in terms of minimizing the impact of such a devastating effect when it's an all-encompassing service. It's absolutely essential.
Your daughter witnessed a very violent attack and what effects did that have on her?
It's been very, very difficult for my daughter. A lot of services have tried their best to help her.
She's a remarkable young woman - very, very strong minded and very mature for her age.
She's witnessed things that no child should actually see. And it's really important that in society we're able to support such children, but also to stop violence because it is a violence against the child as well.
The statistics that are out today are really staggering but as someone who has been through this - do they shock you?
They don't. I thought it would never happen to me.
But when you're in a refuge and you meet other women, it's the same story over and over again. And the ramifications for women and the families are enormous.
We really have to do something in society to be able to support those women.
And these are women from all sections of the community and different socioeconomic backgrounds. That's important to stress this isn't just something that affects one woman over another?
Yes it happens to everybody. And I never thought it would happen to me.
Unfortunately, it did.
But I would like to be in a position today to actually help people be aware that this is a dreadful scar on society. And we have to act to make a change.
We have to support women's organizations like Women's Aid to make a difference, to recognize the devastating effect for people, but actually to be there to help people recover.
I think it's also important to educate both society and children.
So I think there's a lot of education that's actually required across society to stress that violence of any description is just not acceptable.
Helplines
Women's Aid Support Information
National Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0808 2000 247 – www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ (run by Refuge)
The Men’s Advice Line, for male domestic abuse survivors – 0808 801 0327 (run by Respect)
The Mix, free information and support for under 25s in the UK – 0808 808 4994
National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0800 999 5428 (run by Galop)
Samaritans (24/7 service) – 116 123
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