‘I thought the baby would change him’: the women whose pregnancies are blighted by domestic abuse 7 October 2026 at 05:00

‘I thought the baby would change him’: the women whose pregnancies are blighted by domestic abuse

7 October 2026 at 05:00

An estimated 20,000 cases are disclosed to maternity services in England every year. Two survivors tell their stories

Evie bought the baby monitor with a rare flicker of enthusiasm, having become increasingly numb as her pregnancy progressed. She liked that it would send video footage to her phone. “I thought, ‘This is really good. Not only can you hear the baby – you can see the baby.’” Unfortunately, her partner appreciated the monitor too. Soon she was carrying it around the house on his orders, so he could watch her. “He used it as surveillance,” she says.

By then she was worn down, and terrified. He had become more controlling since they learned she was pregnant. By the seventh month he had become physically abusive, too. “We were just lying in bed watching something,” she recalls of the first attack. “An argument broke out but it started getting overly aggressive … It just felt more threatening and he looked really agitated. So I ended up shimmying over and sitting on the edge of the bed. All of a sudden he just swung the biggest punch at my arm. Then he did it again. The impact was like whiplash.”

I was tortured because I’m a Somali woman who dared to speak out | Sadia Moalim Ali 7 October 2026 at 01:00

I was tortured because I’m a Somali woman who dared to speak out | Sadia Moalim Ali

The Guardian

By: Sadia Moalim Ali

7 October 2026 at 01:00

I was sentenced to three years in jail for insulting government institutions. Now I am free, I will carry on fighting for the women I met in prison

‘Why don’t you just drive your tuk-tuk and do your work?” the judge asked me after videos from my social media accounts were shown during my court hearing. I had spoken on TikTok and Facebook about issues in Somalia that concerned me: forced evictions in the capital, Mogadishu, high fuel prices and nepotism in government.

I had described how, when I applied for work in hospitals and government departments, I was told on three occasions that I’d have to give a sexual favour in return.

My sister Nicole married OJ Simpson. This is what I wish I had known 5 October 2026 at 00:00

My sister Nicole married OJ Simpson. This is what I wish I had known

The Guardian

By: Emine Saner

5 October 2026 at 00:00

Since Nicole Brown Simpson’s murder in 1994, Denise Brown has devoted herself to ending domestic violence. She talks about her beloved sister, the trauma she witnessed in the couple’s marriage and how lives can be saved

The last night Denise Brown spent with her sister Nicole Brown Simpson was at a restaurant for a family celebration. Nicole looked out of the window. “All of a sudden she goes, ‘Oh my God, there he is.’ He was driving by.” Brown looked out, trying to get a glimpse of her sister’s ex-husband, the former American football star OJ Simpson. “I saw these headlights. She said, ‘He’s constantly following me.’” They went back to talking about their plans for the summer.

The following morning, 13 June 1994, Brown was up early at her parents’ house in Orange County in southern California, when the phone rang shortly after 6am. “I heard my mom scream a scream that I had never heard from a human being,” says Brown. “It was so guttural. Just awful.”

CARNAGEMAN:IKE 22 September 2026 at 05:21

CARNAGEMAN:IKE

MetaFilter

By: Lorc

22 September 2026 at 05:21

It is the future. The balance of wealth and power in America is at it's all time worst. An invincible man named Ike appears. CARNAGEMAN: IKE is a stylish and violent sixty-second animated short about why it's important not to be rushed into signing anything. By DOMROM.

Behind the scenes. A teaser for the full project, showcasing a few characters and suggesting the direction it might take. An update from the creator on how the short was made, and the happy reasons that the full thing is on hold. Other highlights from their channel: LUCKYBOY - the saga of a young sock in the big city. A fun medley of animation styles. Starbrry City - lo-fi synthwave animation. Chill and atmospheric.

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