‘I got a brain injury and a life sentence’: the hidden legacy of male violence against women

The effects of head trauma on athletes are well documented. Finally, a UK study is examining the long-term brain health of females abused by their partner

The violence began long before Freya Doe* married at 18 - and it quickly escalated. It was what I thought love was," she says, speaking on Zoom from her home in the US. On one occasion, her husband punched her in the face, threw her off a porch, and repeatedly slammed her head on the ground. He threatened her with one of the several guns he owned then strangled her until she lost consciousness. When she came to, he was talking on the phone, saying: I finally did it. I finally killed the bitch."

Blood vessels in her eyes had burst. She was in hospital for a week. Twenty-two X-rays were taken of her head, neck, back and chest. I was told the migraines would go away. They didn't," she says.