There was a 10% increase in domestic abuse in England and Wales this year, where 26.3% of women have experienced domestic abuse. Yes, that’s right, an increase. You probably thought it was going down, it was all getting better. You might have thought that no one needs to be scared at home anymore. Unfortunately this isn’t the case.
In this week’s mid-season finale Grey’s anatomy touched on the issues that survivors of domestic abuse may face. In ‘Out Of Nowhere’, Jo Wilson, played by Camilla Luddington was confronted by her husband Paul Stadler (whom she can’t divorce). In case you don’t remember, her husband used to beat her, she didn’t want to file for a divorce because she was afraid he would find her if she tried.
‘When I bought something wrong, he’d hit me in my face, or my stomach’ she told DeLuca in ‘Family Affair’ (S12E24). This was the first time we had ever heard that she was married. She was so afraid that she didn’t even tell Alex, but she has a whole new, very accomplished life, yet she could not get rid of her old life. Over half of unsuccessful prosecutions (53%) were due to either victim retraction, victim non-attendance or evidence that the victim did not support the case. This is a horrible situation to be in, and it shows that it is not easy to come forward, especially since all you really want to do is get away.
Jo realised that she was fed up with hiding, she wanted to take a stand, she did not want to be the victim anymore. She was going to do it, she was going to divorce Paul! Yes, I thought as I watched it, you go girl!
It was all going so, well until…
‘Hey Brooke’ Paul says calmly ‘oh wait, its, its ‘Jo’ now right?’
You could see her falling in despair as she walked out of the elevator, my heart sunk with hers. I was so full of hope, thought she would get her happily ever after, but whenever it seemed to get a little better, she would just be reminded. I can imagine many women who are victims of domestic abuse feeling this way.
Jo had gone back to the time when she was Brooke Stadler. Now in case you aren’t familiar with Grey’s Anatomy, Jo Wilson is definitely one of the strongest characters in the show, she is also an up and coming surgical superstar. She is Chief resident, named the most promising intern by Meredith (who, let’s face it is very hard to please) and is pretty much universally liked in the hospital. But that moment, that moment when she laid eyes on him, all her memories came flooding back. The juxtaposition of confident, bright Jo compared to the scared, small Brooke seemed to me, at that moment to be sending a strong message about how many who have experienced domestic violence may feel. It’s a important reminder that, for these victims, the memories might always loom.