Telling Amy’s Story | Full documentary

[fabiwilliams]

A few years back I was on an escalator when a woman in front of me was punched in the face. Her partner then picked up their pram to throw his 8 month old baby over the side. The moment I saw what he was doing I grabbed that pram & we fought all the way down. The escalator was full & no one said or did anything. Meanwhile this idiot is telling me to mind my own business. I told him it was everyone's business

[rosieleat]

I was on a ferry about 30 years ago now and this group of young people were talking together. One of the girls had a boyfriend who had just learnt that she had, had an abortion before she met him apparently. Well he started going on about it and she was becoming more submissive, trying to appease him - and he was escalating with bullying tactics, using it against her to control her. The other young people did nothing. I was pretending to read my book. He was sounding more and more controlling and my blood boiled, so I got up and went over to them and said, "It's no business of yours what she did before you met her, it's her life, not yours ... " - they all looked at me in shock, and one of the young woman said - "Oh it's okay! We're rehearsing a script!" - It turns out that they were a group of young actors - (and they thanked me for speaking up in case it had been real). I grew up with abuse so you know the signs. I was relieved it wasn't for real, still shook me up for a while. and I'm glad I spoke up.

[HollisMJP]

Mariska Hargitay is a class act. You should ALWAYS use her for your PSA's. People listen to her!!! Thank you Mariska!

[helzie]

This was almost my story. If he hadn't have thrown my bag with my phone in it into the trunk of the car with my beaten, stabbed self, i wouldve been burned in a forest. Instead, I called the police who traced my call and now he's still sitting in prison 21yrs later. I wish i had followed through the first time I went to the police, I was just too scared. 5 times later, survival kicked in and I now have a wonderful life. Run, run fast and far as soon as you can. Forget the house, forget the possessions, just save yourself.

[MilyMoon]

My daughters father beat me almost to death when she was 8 months old and my son was 8. I had 4 broken ribs, one rib went into my lung and collapsed it, 4 facial fractured on top of my orbital bone being crushed, a traumatic brain injury among other scratches and bruises. My 8 year old saved my life. My abuser did go to prison but only for 4 years. He’s out now fighting for visitation of my daughter who is now 7. (My now 16 year old son has a different father.) I have spent almost $25, 000 fighting against him getting visitation with my daughter and we just wrapped trial. Fingers crossed the magistrates does not allow this man to have visits with my daughter.

I am beyond blessed that I am now a domestic violence advocate & case manager and able to help others! it is my life mission to help save others flee and live lives free of domestic violence 💜 💜

[cmmom]

The second he threatens to kill you, you have to realize he is not joking.
Never tell him that you are leaving just do it.

[mickikirkland]

It's been 50 years in October since I left going to the hospital the victim of domestic violence from my then husband. So badly beaten my sister didn't recognize me. He continued to threaten me and plead with me to return. He has indoctrinated our daughter from the age of 8 -12 into believing it was my fault. Even though she's the person who placed the call to get my parent's help. She has a strong stance against domestic violence except when it comes to me.
I'm no longer afraid but he's 79 and sick, so now I feel safe. I tell other women to recognize the signs at the beginning and get out. I met him at 16 and almost everyone thought he was a great guy. I found out years after the divorce that he has a son 3 months younger than our daughter by a woman he'd been in a relationship throughout our relationship. My decision to never go back was one of my best. Self-defense classes and lots of therapy helped me get stronger. I have hope the laws will get stronger to help the victims.

[DANIxDANGER]

I've been looking for this documentary for YEARS. I worked at Verizon from 2009-2018 and i recall Amy's story being the reason we pushed so hard to have people donate their phones to the HopeLine charity. She was a Verizon employee. We had notices that this documentary was going to be on PBS and the company encouraged EVERYONE to support it and watch it. It's such a gut wrenching story, and i couldn't find a link to watch it in a while. Idk why this was suggested to me (i gave up looking a while ago) but I'm grateful that it popped up on my recommended list.

[apaintedflower]

2004. I get a call at around 1am, telling me my sister was shot and killed by her husband.
Four days before Christmas.
In front of her 16 year old daughter.
My niece laid down in the driveway with her mother as she took her last breath.
We've learned to live with it, but will never get over it.
No one should ever to have to fear that the person who says they love you may kill you if you choose to leave.

[tomsummer]

As a grandma i lived with abuse and left with my kids after 17 years and the ONE BIG THING I CAN say 100% is an abused woman will only speak about probably 5% of what ever happened to them 💔

[stacieransom]

Just watched this and I have a lot to say. As someone who was in an abusive marriage in 1994 to someone who was on probation for a number of things and having a child with him, I can tell you a few things. 1. The abuse was minor (comparitively) as far as physical. Pushing, throwing things at me without actually hitting me, yanking my head back while I was driving, that kinda thing. This man had several obligations to the legal system. He had to report to his PO once a month, a self help facility worker twice a month AND go to AA meetings once a week (minimum). For the entire year +, he did this and EVERY time at EVERY meeting with EVERY one of these institutions, he not only admitted to what he was doing to me but also violating his probation with alcohol, drugs, carrying a pocket knife, etc. I never had to tell anyone anything. He did it himself and not a single person did ANYTHING. NOT ONE thing. Nothing!
2. I didn't stay as long as I did (which isn't long by most standards) because I feared for myself. I did it for 2 reasons. Because he threatened a family member he KNEW I would die before I let him anywhere near, even though he walked right into her nursing home (drunk) and because it was an all female staff, they couldn't do anything but call police, but also because I knew I had other family that would go to jail for doing something terrible and if that happened, I would not longer have them as a protective resource if I ever needed them again.
3. I fell for him quickly and caught onto his game just as quick. I just couldn't protect myself and others at the same time.
4 It took him hitting my child (then 4 months old) for me to get out (I know, I was a 21 year old moron). The ONLY good thing that came out of that was that he went to jail. He got 3 years because they let him "plea bargain". However, what I didn't know was that he had already killed someone and admitted it when arrested. He got 25-50 years for that. This was 1994 and he got out 3 years ago.
5. My advice to women is...call the cops and ask them to take you to a shelter. First, because you're fairly guaranteed safe between points A&B, you're definitely safe at point B AND if you don't want to go against your abuser yourself, they'll do it for you. I will never forget the name of the officer that helped me and the shelter flat out told me that if I didn't file charges, they would. That alone gave me the balls to do it myself because that told me I finally had someone that wouldn't ignore it and would stand with me. I got out, I fought back and I accomplished everything I needed to. You can too. Even if there are those that did nothing for you along the way and dropped the ball on many levels. I know ALL of their names too!

[Teneille-loxc]

Trauma bonds are extremely hard to break! Unless you’ve been there, you have no idea! I needed to see this at this moment in my life! Thank you!

[teresag-]

I lived with an abusive Mum (I didn’t know it at the time though) & the emotional abuse was irreversible. I then at the age of 18 met a ‘wonderful’ 27 year old man. We moved from Queensland, Australia to Canberra (that’s where he lived and he was visiting family here in Queensland when we met). He convinced me that I didn’t need to go out into the workforce and that I could just work with him. He was literally the ONLY person I knew, until he introduced me to HIS friends (whom I could only talk to when he said we could catch up). Anyway, we finally moved back to Qld so that I could be near my friends again (after 1 of my friends was brutally murdered by her ex). So life is continuing right. Approx 6 months after we met, things went from bad to worse. The abuse that was only occasional (he spent 3 months in jail) began to become a regular occurrence. It wasn’t just physical abuse, it was emotional too. He soon had me convinced that I could NEVER live without him as I was hopeless and useless and there’s ‘no way I’d survive without him!’ He knew to only ever hit me in areas that wouldn’t leave a mark for others to see (my head was one of his favourite places to hit). He would strangle me if I didn’t cook his steak properly, he would hit me if he ran out of alcohol or if someone else pissed him off. You know what blows my mind now though, we actually lived next door to a police officer/detective and he had the officer and his wife convinced that he was a hard working wonderful, attentive man. They either never cared or just turned a blind eye to what was happening right next door. Anyway, fast forward a couple of years and now I’m 7 months pregnant (my first, his 3rd) & he’d just tried to collect money from some guy & because he didn’t get what was owed to him, he grabbed the steering wheel (I was driving, because he was too drunk) & rammed our car into a massive dirt embankment. He then threatened me and made me tell his family that a dog had run out in front of us (we were late for a family event, because of the accident). So, once our daughter was born, he became very jealous and this is when the ‘of you don’t….I’m going to take this bottle of pills and kill myself!’ He started hitting me more and more, but it was when he tried hitting me whilst I was breastfeeding my baby that I finally (& with the help of a new friend) said enough is enough. I will not put my child through this life of abuse and constant fear. So, I went into hiding (it was a safe house in a sense, but not a registered one, it was just a home with a single mum who had been through what I had just been through & she was amazing in so many ways, plus, no one - not even my family knew where I was). I may have lived in fear (in fear of him finding me and killing me), for many years after but I did it. I got out & I’m alive today because of it.

I’m sorry, we can delete my comment if you want. I don’t even know why I’ve told my story here, but maybe, just maybe, someone will see this and realise that whilst it’s the scariest thing you think you could do - there IS a way out. You CAN do this. You CAN escape and live a happy life. My daughter is now a happy 26 year old and whilst she still had a hard childhood (her and her stepdad did not get along sadly), she’s also alive today because of my decision to leave. She’s even studying to become a midwife. I had 3 more children with my now ex-husband & I’m finally away from everyone who abused me (my Mum & my exes).

You know, as a teenager I swore that NO man would ever treat me the way my Mum treated us, but it’s funny how you are attracted to certain characteristics. It’s also very sad how quickly someone can manipulate you without you even realising that it’s happening too. So now, I’m just going to live my life alone (in the romantic sense) & be the best person I can be, not just for myself, but for my kids too.

[christinaFaith]

My late husband and I were arguing one day outside of a gas station. A lady walked up to me and asked if I needed help when he was in the store. I'm very thankful for that woman even though it was a silly argument and I was not in any danger. More people really should walk up and help. My late husband and I laughed about it later but we both knew how important it is for people to step in if they can.

[Beginnerreadsthebible]

What we need to be asking is "why does the justice system go so easy on pedophiles, rapists and abusers?"

[reginatackett]

My own family didn’t believe me when I told them about it because he was so charming. I ended the relationship with him and my family.

[fuzzyrainbowkitten]

Please don't blame the victim, I have walk in her shoes.i lefted my abusive husband 45 years ago in the middle of the night with my son and a bag of clothes. It was planned weeks ahead, never went back. Plan ahead, it is the most dangerous time when they know.

[MithrilMagic]

I did social work for over 15 years. I live near this area and it is absolutely RIFE with domestic violence. And people always say “but he was so nice, this doesn’t happen here.” Well, it does. Domestic violence is insidious, it starts with little things…controlling the way you dress, who you are and aren’t allowed to see, the bedroom activities get rough…he keeps saying “Oh baby! I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again.” But it will…it does. And it’s not just as simple as “leaving”. Because you will be isolated. You will be cut off from your family and friends. Your abuser will make you feel alone. They’ll make you feel like no one wants you, you’re garbage, so you stay. And you become beaten down, mentally, physically…you’re weak. No matter how much you want to leave, you don’t. But there is help…it’s out there. I urge anyone reading this, tell someone. There is help out there. It will take effort. It will be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do. But YOU ARE WORTH IT! Contact a women’s shelter, The Salvation Army Corp or Service Unit. I’m sending love and light to anyone facing domestic abuse.

[mmcdonald]

This story is so sad. The kids lost their mother by their controlling/abusive father. Please ladies the first time a man threatens you or hits you, LEAVE HIM!! IT'S GOING to get worse. Rip Amy. 🙏

[cathyreece]

I called the police on behalf of a women in a domestic violence situation and I was told, ” You can’t call for her— she has to call for herself”.

This needs to change!