This research focuses on the journeys women and children are forced to make because of domestic violence. But it’s not just about the moving itself.
It’s not that either moving or not moving is the solution – it’s about the force and control over any movement.
An abuser will often try and control a woman’s mobility – where she goes, what she does – and expect her to account for her every movement.
Anna was constantly questioned by her partner about her journeys to and from work:
“It was – where have you been… Because from my work it was possible for me to walk or to go by bus […] It was – oh, why did you prefer to walk? Did you meet someone? I just feel like I want to walk. No – why are you fifteen minutes late?”
In an abusive relationship, a woman can feel imprisoned by such surveillance – and it can be really effective in ensuring that she cannot go anywhere on her own – or seek any help.
But it can also be that an abuser uses moving around as another way to imprison and isolate. During the course of her marriage, Violet’s husband insisted on them moving house to somewhere she didn’t want to go:
“I was moved furthest – furthest away from my parents, my friends – so really really remote spot. If he’d take my car then there was nowhere even to go to a shop in walking distance – it was too far. So I felt really isolated.”
So it’s not just about moving or not moving – it’s about who initiates the moves, and who is in control.