Woman of the Week: Natasha

Natasha Saunders lives with her three children and her husband, who she describes as her best friend. Ten years ago, her situation was very different – which is why today, she’s a proud ambassador for Refuge, a domestic abuse charity in the UK.

“For me, my monster didn’t live under the bed. He lay in it,” remembers Natasha. At the age of 17, she met a man who was 14 years older, and they quickly moved in together and he proposed. He soon encouraged her to stop working and stop seeing her friends.

Natasha says, “He would manipulate situations – ‘your friend tried to come on to me’ – so I wouldn’t speak to her anymore. And very quickly I found myself isolated.”

They had a daughter and then a son together. When she gave birth to their son, he made Natasha go home the same night. Once the two children were in bed, he raped her, even though she’d just delivered a baby. “. I was in absolute agony. I don’t know how many stitches he ripped. I don’t know, I couldn’t bring myself to look. And I think from that point, things just spiralled completely out of control,” she says.

“His abuse became more profound, and as I grew up, I realised that this was not a way that I wanted to live,” she says. “I phoned the national domestic abuse helpline in January 2015. And the lady I spoke to saved my life. She said, ‘Natasha, you’re right, you are suffering domestic abuse. There is a way out. You are strong enough. You do matter.’” After this, Natasha reported him to the police.

The investigation took three years, and he was eventually found guilty of three counts of rape and one of sexual assault by penetration, and was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 15 years.

Since then, Natasha has worked with Refuge to raise awareness of domestic violence so other women in the same situation feel empowered to get help. “I want to do as much work as possible to show women and girls the mindset that helped me to survive. I’ve gone from living in a house where I was scared when he walked in the room to being married to my best friend,” she says.

Avon has partnered with Refuge since 2008. “Without Avon’s support, Refuge just simply couldn’t do the work that they do,” says Natasha. “They give women the toolkit to be able to support themselves and be entrepreneurs. And I think it’s so important to have Avon linked with Refuge because they both stand for empowerment.”

By sharing her story, Natasha hopes to inspire other women experiencing abuse to speak out and get help. “If I could give advice to somebody, it would be don’t give up, you are far stronger than you realise,” she says. “There are services that will support you.”