Mel B's daughter speaks about growing up around domestic abuse

Phoenix Brown, the daughter of Spice Girl, Mel B, has been speaking about her experience of growing up in a household, where she witnessed domestic abuse.

Phoenix is now working with women's aid and speaks in schools to educate young people on abuse, as Intimate partner violence (IPV) has doubled since the start of the pandemic.

It comes after Mel B said that her ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte, was abusive towards her - claims Mr Belafonte has repeatedly denied.

What is intimate partner violence?

• It can take several forms including physical, verbal, emotional, economic and sexual abuse

• The women most at risk with the highest rates are those aged 16-24.

Shockingly only 59% of people think a partner hitting them is a ‘red flag’ highlighting an unhealthy relationship.

"Because you're in a situation where you feel alone, you feel alone in the rest of the world."

Other behaviours include being threatened with violence (57%), being isolated from their family and friends (55%), controlling behaviour (55%), having their partner threaten to take their own life if they didn’t do what they wanted or ever left them (55%) and threatening behaviour towards their child/children (54%).

Phoenix Brown describes how growing up in a home with domestic abuse was 'lonely':

"You felt very hopeless, because you knew you were in a bad situation, but you didn't know what to do, and I didn't know who to talk to even though I did have family and friends around me, it's hard to just say to them 'this is my situation I need help', because you don't really understand it.

"I knew from the get go that the household that I was in, wasn't a 'normal' household, because I had sleepovers, I went to my friends houses and you can tell the different dynamics in 2 seconds, so I knew straight away that this wasn't the household that was meant for me or my mother.

"I remember being in my room at times just feeling very alone, feeling like I had no one, even though I had people.

"But because you're in a situation where you feel alone, you feel alone in the rest of the world.""But because you're in a situation where you feel alone, you feel alone in the rest of the world."

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• domestic abuse
• Mel B