'When I think of childhood, the abuse was always there'
The Independent|September 18, 2024
Victoria Derbyshire recalls her family's suffering as she backs our campaign to build a refuge for domestic abuse survivors.
ELIZA KETCHER
'When I think of childhood, the abuse was always there'

Victoria Derbyshire has told The Independent how her father used to beat her with a wooden spoon, hit her with a belt, and regularly beat her mother so severely that he once broke her rib.

Recalling the terrible domestic abuse her family suffered, the BBC journalist described how her father once threw scalding soup on her school uniform and put his hands around her throat.

The physical and mental abuse was so bad that Derbyshire, along with her mother, brother, and sister, left their home to stay with her aunt, only to return, as “life kept drawing us back”. Derbyshire said: “When I think about my childhood, it feels like domestic abuse was always there.”

She went on to detail how, although the violence wasn’t constant, it was a regular part of their lives. “It was so, so normalised. I don’t want to minimise it,” she says. “It was just a feature of us growing up – me, my brother, my sister, and my mum.”

The seasoned broadcaster spoke in unprecedented detail about her experience in support of The Independent‘s Brick by Brick campaign, in partnership with Refuge, which aims to raise £300,000 to build a safe house for survivors fleeing domestic abuse. Although her father, who died in 2020, denied hitting his children, Derbyshire recalled a childhood where fear was a constant presence.

“We would hear my father’s key in the back door, and wherever we were in the house, we’d dash to our bedrooms and shut the door. We just didn’t want to be around him.” She described how the family lived on edge, “walking on eggshells” to avoid provoking his anger. Derbyshire revealed that the abuse wasn’t limited to physical violence, and something as mundane as a boiling kettle could set off her father’s rage.

Denne historien er fra September 18, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 18, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE INDEPENDENTSe alt
'I'm doing whatever it takes.for the team to be better'
The Independent

'I'm doing whatever it takes.for the team to be better'

Cheslin Kolbe, the Springboks' ultimate utility man, tells Harry Latham-Coyle about overcoming his diminutive size and difficult upbringing to make history with his 'brothers'

time-read
3 mins  |
November 09, 2024
'No excuses': England look to power past Aussie rivals
The Independent

'No excuses': England look to power past Aussie rivals

For England, Australia lurk like a snake in the Outback.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 09, 2024
The crisis at Arsenal points to something much deeper
The Independent

The crisis at Arsenal points to something much deeper

There's an example some modern coaches use to show a team has run out of ideas: it is when they start swinging in crosses, repeatedly, to no effect. Arsenal tried that 46 times against Inter on Wednesday. It isn't quite the 81 that David Moyes'

time-read
4 mins  |
November 09, 2024
Trump's victory will make Brexit even more painful
The Independent

Trump's victory will make Brexit even more painful

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in President Trump's Oval Office when the request arrives from Britain not to impose extra trade tariffs.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 09, 2024
British Airways owner IAG records 15% surge in profits
The Independent

British Airways owner IAG records 15% surge in profits

The owner of airlines British Airways and Aer Lingus has said its earnings soared in recent months due to \"the effectiveness of our strategy and group-wide transformation\".

time-read
1 min  |
November 09, 2024
Iranian operative tasked with assassination of Trump
The Independent

Iranian operative tasked with assassination of Trump

A fugitive Iranian government operative is accused of hiring a pair of New Yorkers he met in prison to carry out an assassination plot against a critic of the regime, and allegedly admitted to FBI agents that he had also been tasked with finding a hit squad to kill president-elect Donald Trump.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 09, 2024
Republicans in the lead in fight to control the House
The Independent

Republicans in the lead in fight to control the House

Republicans held on to a narrow edge yesterday as election officials tallied the final votes that will determine control of the US House of Representatives - and could see Donald Trump's party win a clean sweep, having already taken the Senate and the White House.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 09, 2024
Fresh flooding hits Spain after 'intense' rainfall
The Independent

Fresh flooding hits Spain after 'intense' rainfall

Fresh flash flooding has hit Spain's northeast, washing away dozens of vehicles, after more than 200 people were killed last week in one of the worst floods in Europe this century.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 09, 2024
Women and children make up two-thirds of Gaza dead
The Independent

Women and children make up two-thirds of Gaza dead

Women and children account for nearly 70 percent of all Palestinian deaths in Gaza verified by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), which has accused Israel of failing \"to comply with the fundamental principles of humanitarian law\".

time-read
2 mins  |
November 09, 2024
'We failed Jewish people again', admits Dutch king
The Independent

'We failed Jewish people again', admits Dutch king

Willem-Alexander reignites memories of pogroms in WW2 as Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are attacked in Amsterdam

time-read
4 mins  |
November 09, 2024