Helen Walmsley-Johnson is the author of Look What You Made Me Do, a memoir which details the impact of coercive control in a relationship.

She was also a speaker at the Safe World Summit, exploring meaningful solutions to support women and children experiencing violence.

Helen explains that coercive control is "a very difficult part of domestic violence to understand, but it is the foundation on which the rest of it is built."

She describes it as a pattern of psychological torture, which consists of controlling someone and removing their free will: "90% of domestic abuse cases include coercive control."

Helen's experience of coercive control began when she met a man on a blind date. At first, she says, he seemed perfectly pleasant and normal, but there were "a couple of small clues."

When he saw her talking to another man he remarked, "I can't leave you alone for a moment." She then offered him her phone number, which he refused, giving her his number instead and saying, "You will call me."

The relationship developed regardless: "He made me feel very special and that's how it starts. That's the hook."

As things continued, he began going through her clothes and telling her what to throw away. "Slowly, your life is taken over."

He did go on to physically assault her.

After they had been together for four years, Helen ran away to London. He turned up at her flat five years later and tried to resume their relationship, but she didn't give in.

Now, Helen says it's good that women are able to talk about their experiences of domestic abuse.

"Shame is the gag, it stops you speaking about it. The more women speak about it, the more we'll be able to reduce that shame and the sooner we'll be able to get things changed."

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