Sophie's Story

Sophie, her mother, and her siblings had experienced severe domestic abuse from her father. After seeking support, they had managed to escape the situation and were now living without dad.

However, Sophie remained in regular contact with her father and she frequently argued with her mother, blaming her for the family’s breakup and begging her to take her father back, believing they needed him.

Sophie was referred to Love4Life to support her to know what healthy relationships look like, to recognise that her father was abusive and to better understand her mother's experience and the protective decisions she was making for her children.

Our Leicester team decided that Sophie would benefit from 1-2-1 support and she began working with one of our youth workers, Laila. Laila recognised that there were numerous, sensitive challenges for Sophie to navigate including the different relationships with her parents and her role within the family. She identified that it was crucial for Sophie to better understand healthy relationships so she can recognise that her dad's behaviour was not normal.

The support proved extremely impactful and within two or three sessions, the initial referrer reached out to commend the impact Love4Life had on Sophie and shared positive feedback from her mother.

However, a few months later Sophie's mum took her dad back, and the domestic abuse resumed, even worse than before. This time, Sophie no longer pleaded with her mother to stay in the relationship. Instead, she urged her to remove her father from the house and assured her that they would be ok without him. Sophie ended up giving her mum an ultimatum: either she would tell someone about the ongoing abuse and access support, or Sophie would.

As a result, her mother has now informed the police, and support has resumed. Many stakeholders involved with the family have recognised that a big part of this positive progress is due to Sophie's newfound understanding of healthy relationships, respect, boundaries, and self-worth, thanks to her support from Love4Life. Sophie was not only able to empower herself, but empower her mum to make the difficult decisions that would be best for her and the children in the long-term. Without the support of Laila and Love4Life, it is likely that the family would still be in immediate danger and Sophie would be at risk of unhealthy/abusive relationships in the future.

There are many more young people like Sophie that need Love4Life. Your donations will help those who need it the most to access our services sooner.