Victim's Story: Families taking a stand against violent partners

Sep 2 2010 By Rebekah Oruye

DOMESTIC violence victims may bear the physical scars of an attack, but often family members are as affected by the emotional trauma.

The parents of a 22-year-old Birmingham woman agreed to speak out to the Mail after pursuing a conviction for the man who abused their daughter.

At the request of their only child, Susan Lewis and her husband Dave did not call the police until their daughter Hayley was assaulted for a second time.

The first attack happened in February this year, when Hayley was six weeks pregnant and living with boyfriend Joshua David Thompson in Stratford Road, Birmingham.

Susan, aged 46, said: “When he broke her nose she was covered in blood. She came back to our house in Coventry and I cleaned her up. That really hurt me. He was a monster. She said she loved him and would not allow us to call police. We didn’t out of respect to her.”

But then a few months later Thompson struck out again and was verbally abusive towards Hayley. In a witness statement read out at Solihull Magistrates Court, Thompson was said to threatened Hayley with the words, “let this be a warning or I’ll do something serious and put you in prison”.

Thompson was arrested after the second attack – which left Hayley with bruising to her thigh.

He only pleaded guilty to the assault on the day of the court trial, when the Lewis’ were due to give evidence. To add to their misery, Susan said Hayley has been re-united with Thompson despite everything he had done to her.