Fight back against domestic abuse
Women urged to speak out about toxic relationships
An all-women gym is fighting domestic abuse by empowering members to speak out against toxic relationships.
All Warriors in Ayr are waging war on violence against women with a campaign that follows horrific murders of women in Ayrshire.
Gym boss Mariea Mohan has created an environment where victims can share their views on physical and mental abuse they recieve at home.
The personal trainer wanted to take action after being inspired by the grim reality of six women being murdered at the hands of men in Ayrshire over three years.
Mariea, who used to run the popular Madisons nightclub in Ayr, has dedicated the gym’s zero-tolerance on all forms of domestic abuse to those victims.
The former club boss was friends with Ayr mum Kirsty Robertson, who was murdered at home in 2019, and helped raise funds for Kirsty’s two children after her death.
This summer her gym team launched a fundraiser for South Ayrshire Women’s Aid to help victims in crisis.
Mariea, 37, said: “We began noticing that some of our members were struggling with abusive and narcissistic
behaviour at home throughout lockdown. It has never been more important to speak out about violent behaviour and we knew we had to start doing more.
“We all saw the awful events in Kilmarnock that happened earlier this year, and the report on the six women, including Kirsty, who were killed really highlighted that we need to speak out about this type of behaviour.
“We shared this is on our main Facebook page to stand with these women.”
A ‘friendship not membership’ arrangement has helped members speak out at the exercise hub on Limekiln Road after it bounced back from lockdown in April.
Mariea, who experienced abuse in a previous relationship, is on a mission to ensure her members facing daily threats will leave their damaging relationship for ‘the last time’ to break the cycle of abuse.
She has noticed women are joining the gym to boost their confidence before potentially having it knocked back down again.
Mariea said: “For every new member who walks through our doors we offer a friendship not a membership - we always ask questions to them and a big one is what is going on at home and who is their support.
“It’s that simple conversation which can make a big difference and we started to notice that many members were suffering after lockdown from abusive relationships.
“Whether it be physical or mental abuse - we started to have conversations about that.
“Some of the stories I hear can be heartbreaking. In another job I had a women come to the gym and asked if she could get down to the size of the receptionist her husband was having an affair with. Often we’d have members coming into the gym with their partners telling them to lose weight or teasing them about their weight.
“Then when they lose the weight and are feeling confident about themselves they are criticised for being at the gym too much.”
Since last month members have been working up a sweat through themed classes or dips in the sea to tackle abusive behaviour and help a crisis charity for victims.
Thought-provoking messages have placed on mirrors throughout the gym.
It is hoped that messages such as ‘I was too busy loving you whilst you were hurting me’ have prompted further conversations from women who have been scared to speak out about what is going on.
Mariea said: “It has never been more important for women to speak out about these issues. A lot of them have been trapped throughout lockdown facing abuse on a daily basis.
“When we started writing messages on the mirror it started to spark more conversations and other members were agreeing with it and sharing their experiences.
“We are wanting all our members to be open and create new friendships; this is all about them feeling empowered and safe.
“If there are members who are in that type of relationship which is toxic and dragging them down it’s about helping them find the strength to leave it for the last time.”
Sarah Millar, training and prevention worker at South Ayrshire Women’s Aid said: “We are grateful to All Warriors for creating a safe space for women to talk and raise awareness.
“The whole organisation is overwhelmed with the support that has been shown. It helps our service users immensely - both women and children affected by domestic abuse.”
We began noticing some of our members struggling with abusive and narcissistic behaviour at home