This June, I’ll be taking on a 100-mile challenge to raise money for Refuge, a charity that supported me during one of the darkest periods of my life.

For a long time, I lived in silence, fear and survival mode. I experienced severe physical abuse and psychological trauma that completely changed the way I saw the world and myself. At one stage, I became one of the highest risk domestic abuse cases in the UK.

I developed crippling fear and agoraphobia. I felt trapped, isolated and terrified. From the outside, many people would never have known what was happening behind closed doors.

There were nights where I sat alone, scared and overwhelmed, spending hours on the phone to Refuge because I didn’t know where else to turn. Those conversations mattered more than I can ever explain. They gave me support, reassurance and moments of hope when everything felt impossible.

A local domestic abuse centre ultimately helped save my life, and today my perpetrator is imprisoned. But recovery doesn’t simply begin and end with escaping. The impact of abuse stays with you physically, psychologically and emotionally long after the danger has gone.

One in four women will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime, and on average one woman is killed every five days in England and Wales by a current or former partner. Refuge is the largest single provider of specialist services to survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based abuse and runs the freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline that provides the first step to women escaping abuse.

That is why this challenge means so much to me.

Every mile is for the people currently living in fear. For the people who feel trapped and alone. For the people silently trying to survive while the world around them has no idea what they are carrying.

Refuge answers calls from people at the point of crisis. They provide safety, guidance and support when someone feels they have nowhere left to go. I know first-hand how life-changing that can be.

If you’re able to donate, share this fundraiser or support the challenge in any way, thank you. And if anyone reading this is struggling in silence right now, please know there is support available and your story does not end where your fear begins. ❤️