Tara’s death shows domestic abuse ‘can happen to anyone’
FAMILY SPEAK EIGHT YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF ‘BUBBLY, FEISTY AND INDEPENDENT’ MUM OF THREE
THE abuse suffered by Tara Newbold at the hands of her partner, which carried on up until the moment she died, shows there is no typical victim of domestic violence, her family has said.
The 29-year-old died after a “horrifying” sustained attack by Duane Ballin at their home in Alford Court, West Bridgford in 2016.
Ballin, the father to her three young children, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and sentenced to 15 years in prison with a further three years on licence.
A murder charge against him was dropped when a post-mortem examination showed she died of cocaine toxicity.
An inquest hearing did not determine how she came to ingest the drug, with a coroner saying she may have taken it “to anaesthetise the undoubted agony she must have been in”.
“Tara was loved and we miss her so much, she was taken from us so cruelly,” said her aunt, Bev Turner, speaking almost eight years after Tara’s death.
She described her niece as a “bubbly, feisty and strong independent woman”, making the revelation of her hidden abuse all the more shocking. “There’s not a stereotypical female who you would say they’re vulnerable or weak or timid, but you wouldn’t look at her and say she was the type of woman who would be abused in her own home - but she was,” said Ms Turner.
“The outward perception that women give to portray that strong image, you can’t take that for granted, you can’t take that for truth. “It can happen to anyone and it happened to our family. I lived a five-minute walk away, her mum lived a 10-minute walk away.” Ms Turner, who works for Tara’s Angels, a charity set up by Tara’s mum Julie Drury to help victims of domestic violence, said disclosing abuse was one of the biggest barriers to women getting help.
“It’s hard for women to disclose that kind of information to family and friends,” she said. “A lot of that abuse happens behind closed doors and Tara didn’t voice that. There is a stigma attached to a woman experiencing domestic abuse, even those that do survive it’s a hard battle.
“[Tara] died at the hands of her partner and the dad of their three children. He isolated her from the family and every form of abuse was put on her by him. The barrier in her particular situation was the fact she had three children who she wanted to have both parents.”
Ms Turner was speaking at the She is Summit, hosted by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire on Friday.
The event was used to launch a Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which has been committed to by Nottinghamshire Police and all of the county’s local councils.
Ms Turner described it as a “brilliant partnership”, adding: “All these organisations coming together with a plan for the next five years.
“This focus needs to stay and I’m really pleased about the five-year plan because politics change and journalists focus somewhere else. It means it won’t get dropped off the agenda.”
She said she was “really proud and quite emotional” to be at the summit. “We couldn’t not be here because the audience are really important. These are girls and young women and if we can tell Tara’s story and save one from ending up where are family ended up then it will be worth it.”
However, she said nowhere near enough was being done to protect women on a national scale.
“It’s not good enough is it, we’re not protecting women and we’re not protecting girls,” she said.
“I’m massive on education for young children because where does it start? We need to educate our boys and our girls on healthy relationships from a very early age and not stop until they’re an adult.”
You wouldn’t look at her and say she was the type of woman who would be abused in her own home - but she was.
Bev Turner