“If you want to get resources for it, you have to make sure you mention the fact that men are victims too, otherwise forget it. They are, but the vast majority of victims are women.”
If the vast majority were men?
“Are you actually kidding me? If women were killing men at the rate men are killing women – can you even imagine? Women are put in prison for not paying fines. If dogs were killing people at the rate men are killing women, we wouldn’t have as many dogs around the place.”
Ms Neate says working at Women’s Aid was a “privilege” that changed her as a person. It was also hard – a constant fight to keep the organisation afloat financially. “I spent a lot of my time chasing money, but we really made change.”
Under her leadership, Women’s Aid successfully campaigned for legislation which established coercive and controlling behaviour as a criminal offence. Ms Neate describes this as “one of the most amazing moments” of her life.
She points to the case of Sally Challen, who was jailed for murdering her husband in 2011 but released in 2019. Her conviction was quashed due to evidence of coercive control. “That was just a moment, a moment for women, but it was a real moment for me, for sure,” she says.
She praises the charity’s staff and the women running local domestic abuse services. “They inspired me every single time I met them – they still do. When I think about those women and what they do and the lack of resources.”
Ms Neate says she was “getting loads of recognition”, but “they weren’t getting any of that… And they were literally saving women’s lives every day. That was really humbling.”
The role had downsides for her personal life. Men’s rights activists egged her house and slashed her tyres
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https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/the-life-and-career-of-polly-neate-the-journalist-who-became-a-charity-chief-executive-91147