THIS is the horrifically-battered face of a woman whose bravery helped put a vicious domestic violence thug behind bars.
Jane London, 34, received the horrendous injuries in a brutal attack by Michael Southern, her partner of three years. But she was determined to stand up to the monster in court. Yesterday, she saw him jailed indefinitely. She was knocked unconscious and suffered multiple fractures to her jaw, nose and cheek when Southern, 32, of Wigan, hit her with a set of dumbbells during a drunken row.
Blood on the wall suggested the attack continued while Ms London was on the floor. Southern, who has previously been jailed for assaulting a partner with a rolling pin, admitted wounding with intent. He was told at Liverpool Crown court that he must serve at least two-and-a-half years.
Today, Ms London was praised for her bravery in seeing the case through the courts. In a rare move for victims of domestic violence, Ms London agreed for these pictures of her horrific injuries - taken at Manchester Royal Infirmary - to be made public in the hope that her stance inspires other women to take their attackers to court.
Det Con John Davies said: "She has been incredibly strong in seeing this through the court process I hope that other victims of domestic realise that they can come to police, get the support they need and make sure the people who think they can get away with hurting them are stopped and jailed.é
Sandra Horley OBE, chief executive of Refuge - a national charity which supports victims of domestic violence and runs safe houses for them - said: éWe need to celebrate the courage and strength of women such as Jane. They are an inspiration to every woman who is currently living with the daily terror of domestic violence. And they should be an inspiration to us all.é
éLeaving a violent man is incredibly difficult. He may be loving and charming one minute and nasty and abusive the next. And if he is jealous and possessive, he will make it even harder. Leaving is a process, which takes time. But when a woman feels able to leave, she is taking back control of her life.
GMP dealt with a staggering 61,100 incidents of domestic abuse between April 2005 and March 2006 - a 7.7 per cent jump on the same period last year. é but experts warn the figures are only the tip of the iceberg.
Alcohol
Greater Manchester has higher than average levels of domestic abuse and repeat offending - 17,000 victims contact agencies in Manchester every year, and a third of incidents involve alcohol.
Domestic violence has been made a priority issue by police, courts and local authorities. Every month, the most vulnerable families are discussed and action plans drawn up. Trained police domestic abuse investigators are on hand across Greater Manchester and extra support is given to victims. Panic rooms, window grilles and arson-proof letterboxes are being fitted to the homes of the most vulnerable victims to help protect them from violent abusers.
The problem is now so serious that dedicated domestic violence courts - already operating in Salford and Wigan - will sit across Greater Manchester later this year. A spokesman for another charity, Womenés Aid, said: éSociety must start seeing domestic abuse as the outrageous crime that it is.é
* MANCHESTER Womenés Domestic Violence Helpline é 0161 636 7525 (Monday to Friday 10am é 4pm)
* NATIONAL Domestic Violence Helpline é 0808 2000 247
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I don't agree with violence BUT whilst inside prison I hope someone wipes that disgusting smirk off his face
I would just like to praise the courage of this lady to take this to court and hope others that are currently in this awful situation, can do the same. I feel very humbled and puts my (very trivial) problems into perspective.
I agree with Steve. Let's hope that somebody gives him a taste of his own medicine, the cowardly bully.
He is a CLASS act isn't he. You normally find that these type of people won't actually stand up to people of their own size or sex, they normally pick on weak, opposite sex to get their feeling's of power. I would gladly be locked in a room with this wimp, and give him a taste of his own medicine.
I'm confident Southern will be a big hit with his fellow prisoners now he's locked up... I'd be interested to see what type of hero he really is.
However, if he is allowed out in less than three years, can it be long after his release before he again attacks a woman, possibly killing his next victim?
My family have previously supported a woman undergoing systematic domestic violence, and it can be a terribly thankless task. Many's the time the man was removed from the family home, only to return - sometimes merely hours after the police had left, to assault her again. She always refused to press charges and, we ultimately felt we could no more than wait for the inevitible.
People such as Southren, are invariably cowards, inadequates and have no self-worth or belief, so take out their issues on others. These incidents - as I'm sure any Bobby will tell you - happen, daily, in homes where the occupants are wealthy - or poor, intelligent or otherwise, and will continue to happen until the justice system hands out tougher sentences to violent brutes.
I wish Ms London well.
Thank you for making domestic violance reality
I hope he becomes the wife in jail & gets the sort of treatment he gave out !.
Could some one please explain as to why an indefinate sentence equates to 2 years ??
Only two and a half years for an offence he has commited before?? Or do we wait till he kills next time before he's put away for good? By the looks of the very brave lady she is lucky to be alive-well done to her but I'm sure she must be dissappointed with the sentence for all that she must've had to go through to get him convicted.
I hope whilst he is inside someone smacks him into next week, men who hit women are weak. Jane is very brave to have shown what he did to her and I hope she can start a new and better life now he is in prison
What a cowardly scumbag. Let's hope he meets someone in prison with a similar taste for violence.
Well done Jane you've been courageous by standing up to him. These law breakers are the lowest and become dependent of giving out abuse to innocent victims. They should not be in relationships if they cant handle them.
what a Coward!the dirty piece of scum!2 half years what is that for a Sentence?I hope he slips on a bar of soap!
congratulations for standing up to this spineless bully jane. a true inspiration for other battered wives out there. you have more balls, pardon the pun, than this brute. get well soon darling. manchester is proud of you
Well done Jane, he didn't get long enough in my opinion.
Just one question that totally baffles me. In the majority of domestic abuse cases the victim tends to keep on returning to the animal out of some misguilded loyalty until its too late. Why?
I am glad there has been this change in law.I am 36 now but when i was 13 i called the Hampshire police as my mothers boyfriend was beating my mother once again.He even beat up my brother who was nearly 15 as he tried to intervine.When i asked the police to attend they asked what the problem was,i told them and they replied that they do not attend domestics.I said what does he have to do before you do something,kill her and the shocking reply was "yes".Thankfully he didn`t and finally my mother left him.
My mothers beatings lasted on and off for 5 years.Yes she loved him but there comes a time when you realise that a leopard does not change it`s spots.Now we do have law to protect women and men who are beaten and abused on a daily basis so now is the time to stand up and be counted.Weldone Jane,you have stood up and i wish you a very speedy recovery.God Bless you.
I know how hard it can be to leave an abusive relationship, i put up with it for 12 years after meeting my ex when i was just 14, thankfully he never beat me to a pulp, but there are lots of ways to hurt a person without leaving obvious bruises. & although i live apart from him he continues to try & make my life as much of a nightmare as possible.
A 2 yr sentence doesn't encourage people in that situation to go through the hell of court, but the more women/men who see domestic violence being prosecuted in the media, the more likely they are to take a stand. Well done jane, it takes guts.
Let's face it , violence is British society's most serious issue. I'm saddened to see the U.K. considers it anything less than a national crisis.
Thanks for your concern, Kevin, but I think you should deduct one IQ point and look at America's crime stats first: according to USJD statistics, since 9/11 violent crime in America has totaled over 2 million crimes, with approximately 50,000 murders. That's more than ten times the amount of US soldiers killed in combat in the Iraq war -- the violent conflict the US started. Keep it!