Help Stop Military Family Violence

At first, living in the UK as the civilian spouse of an American military man was a great experience. Vanessa met many other American civilian wives. She participated in fundraising projects, attended luncheons and joined a swim group.

But after a couple of months, the abuse started again. Her husband had been mentally and verbally abusive to Vanessa when they lived in the states. She asked him for a divorce. He cried, apologized and told her that moving to the UK would make everything better and give them a new start.

When Vanessa called us she just found out she was pregnant. Her husband had accused her of sleeping with other men and questioned her loyalty. He didn't hit her but he threw things at her including a flower vase and picture frames. Vanessa was afraid to tell her husband. She had never been unfaithful but she was terrified he would go into a rage.

We safety planned, and because of donations like yours, we were able to get Vanessa back to the USA. Vanessa moved in with her mother and hopes her husband gets anger management or other help but right now, she is focusing on herself, her photography business and the baby.

Thank you so much for donating to help stop Military Family Violence! The AODVC Team

Jeremy was ashamed to call us. He is stationed at a military base in Spain. His wife, a Spanish national, was the love of his life. They married six months after meeting in Spain. At first Jeremy thought that her little bouts of jelousy were cute. Jeremy would hug her and tell her he loved her and within minutes everything was fine.

But then she began going through the pockets of his fatigues, checking his phone and searching his car. Hugging her did no good and on serveral occasions she became violent, hitting him, screaming and throwing things at him.

When Jeremy called, he was suprised to hear that we understood what he was going through. He thought if he told anyone they would laugh at him. After all he is 6' tall and weighs 200 pounds. His wife is 5'3 and weighs 120 pounds. But Jeremy was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster.

We helped Jeremy with counseling. He decided he needed to leave his wife because he wanted to have children but knew his wife was too violent to raise a child.

Here is a note from Jeremy: "Y'all helped me so much. My head was all messed up. Now I"m okay. Sad but okay."

Thank you for helping Jeremy! The AODVC Team.