When She’s Killed, It’s Not a Competition
So far this year twenty seven women have lost their lives to violence in Northern Ireland. The most recent is Sarah Montgomery, a mother of two who was expecting her third child, murdered in her own home. This afternoon I went for a walk in the rain hoping the rhythm of my footsteps and the hush of the forest would help me process my thoughts and calm my anger. Instead, as I passed beneath dark branches and felt raindrops on my face, I found myself consumed by anxiety. I avoid making eye contact as a man walks towards me and when he says hello I wonder why that simple greeting makes me so nervous. A few seconds later I look around to make sure he has kept walking. He is most likely harmless, but I cannot know that. The beauty of nature could not drive away the hypervigilance that comes from being a woman and a survivor of domestic abuse from my former partner. That restless fear should not be part of everyday life but for me and for so many others it is. The scariest truth i...
