Domestic violence activist recounts horrific assault, calls for end to victim blaming
Domestic violence activist Emma Murphy told The Late Late Show tonight that posting a video of herself on Facebook speaking out about an assault at the hands of her then-partner was her means of “escape”.
The clip subsequently went viral and was seen by millions.
“It was massive and probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life,” she told Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy.
“I was putting myself out there in such a vulnerable position. I was putting myself out there looking a state. I had a black eye, I was emotional, I was very, very weak at the time.
"I was just a mess so putting yourself out there on social media was a huge thing but I did it because I wanted to be happy. I just wanted to be happy. I knew that I would never go back there. I knew that was it, that was the final door for me. Posting this video was my escape, I knew from the moment I pressed post that that was it.”
"Straight away I was in agony. It was a punch to the face. My eye was obviously very swollen. I jumped in the car and I drove frantically" - @enmmamurphy recounts the horrific assault on her by her then-partner #latelate pic.twitter.com/wopD5fS8vu
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) December 8, 2017
Earlier, Ms Murphy described the day that her partner punched her in the face during an argument. Her son saw the assault from the back of her car.
“Straight away I was in agony. It was a punch to the face. My eye was obviously very swollen. I jumped in the car and I drove frantically. It happened so quick, I was afraid, I just jumped into the car. The first reaction I had was just: get away, get away. I was afraid, the look in his eye, I was terrified,” she said.
She immediately went to her family for help and reported the incident to Gardaí. In late October this year, her ex-partner was found guilty of assaulting her.
Ms Murphy told The Late Late Show that she waited two and a half years for her case to come to a conclusion and said the slow progress of domestic violence cases through the courts was a "disgrace".
"It's a disgrace" - @enmmamurphy on the slow progress of domestic violence cases through the courts and why victim blaming needs to stop #latelate pic.twitter.com/FjDSIcjLxn
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) December 8, 2017
“My mental health, up and down, up and down, walking in and out of courtrooms. I never want to see a courtroom ever again,” she said, adding that she had not received a lot of support from the system.
“If it wasn’t for the detective dealing with my case, I probably wouldn’t have got through this. The Guards were amazing and I can’t thank them enough” she said.
She was grateful for the guilty verdict, she added, because it meant the system had acknowledged that violence against women is wrong.
She also called for an end to victim blaming in Ireland.
“Victim blaming in Ireland is really, really bad. Constantly we are blaming victims: why didn’t she leave? Why did she accept that? Why didn’t she walk away the first time? Why don’t we change that around and start asking the question: why did he hit her? Why did he do this? Because that’s a choice,” she said.
