Leaving an abuser is not a single moment. It is a process that must be planned.
In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Laura and Grace pick up from the moment Grace called 911 — and walk through everything that followed. The police response that changed everything. The no contact order. The slow, strategic plan she built to extricate herself for good. And the call she received a year later, when her ex asked to come on her podcast to tell the world he had changed.
In this interview Laura and Grace cover:
- The night Grace called 911
- Why the police sergeant who responded understood what Grace wasn't saying — and why that response saved her life
- The 850% increased risk of being killed when a perpetrator puts their hands around a victim's throat
- Why Grace almost went back
- The strategic plan Grace built to leave safely
- Why you cannot feel guilty for being strategic — and why slow and gradual can save your life
- How Grace used a test to confirm what she already knew
- The moment Grace first heard the word domestic violence and realised she was a victim
- Why the charges matter
- Why calling controlling, dangerous behaviour "toxic" is dangerous — and why language is everything
Leaving is not a door you walk through. It is a thousand steps back from a thousand cuts. This conversation could help someone take the first one.
🎙️ Listen to Grace's podcast: Why She Stayed → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-she-stayed/id1742281264?l=vi
📖 Policing Domestic Violence by Laura Richards, Sharon Stratton and Simon Lethlean → http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0199236747?adid=1RR4TZGGGS142QWAX0WM&camp=2902&creative=19466&creativeASIN=0199236747&linkCode=as4&tag=proteagainsta-21
Follow Laura Richards:
🌐 https://www.crime-analyst.com
🌐 https://www.thelaurarichards.com
Join the Crime Analyst Squad:
https://www.patreon.com/c/CrimeAnalyst
YouTube: @crimeanalyst
Instagram: @crimeanalyst
X: @thecrimeanalyst
#crimeanalyst #laurarichards #gracestuart #whyshestayed #coercivecontrol #domesticabuse #survivor #truecrime #truecrimepodcast #education #awareness #prevention #accountability #victimsrights #leavingabuse #strangulation #gaslighting #traumabond #safetyplanning #vawg
