Josie was 16 and finishing high school when her toxic relationship started. To begin with, things were “amazing.” But Josie’s boyfriend would getting angry during fights and she felt scared.

“My friends said that all the things that he did sounded dodgy...”

Ashley was 15 when she met her boyfriend. At first, things were great. But Ashley's boyfriend became increasingly manipulative, coercive, aggressive & violent.

“He attacked me in front of my son...”

James met when he was 18. Her behaviour was toxic soon into the relationship. For a long time, James assumed his girlfriend’s harmful behaviour was “normal.” It wasn’t until things got physical that he realised it wasn’t ok.

“I talked to my mates... they just laughed about it...”

Samantha's boyfriend would embarrass her and make her feel like shit in front of her friends.

“He’d always say that I was a slut...”

Living with domestic abuse left Ella feeling angry. With the right support, she developed strategies to help her cope with her emotions.

“I don’t get angry as much anymore...”

Alice lived with domestic abuse and needed support from people who understood. By opening up, she got the help she needed. These are Alice’s words. And this is her story…

“It was a really good way to get a lot of stuff off my chest...”

Rebekah's step-dad sexually abused her from the age of four. She talked to a teacher and got the support she needed. Her step-dad was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

“I didn’t think my family was any different to anyone else’s.”

Living with domestic abuse left Max feeling worried & anxious. He got help to identify people he could talk to about his feelings and learnt to cope with his emotions.

“The main thing that I have learnt is how to keep myself safe...”

Witnessing domestic violence between his parents left Jack traumatised. The impact became clear as he reached his teens. Jack and his mum got the help they needed from domestic abuse specialists.

“I just didn’t know if I would be able to keep him safe...”

Colin was attacked walking home from a friend's house. He reported the physical assault to the police but didn't tell them he'd been raped. After the attack, Colin struggled to cope – at school and at home.

"I never imagined anything like this could happen to me... I thought I was pretty tough."

In this video, two teenagers chat about their toxic relationships & offer advice to young people going through the same thing.

“She was on top of me and had a knife to my throat…”