Implacably Hostile
IMPLACABLY HOSTILE A true story of survival, the law, and the long road to freedom
In 1990, a woman crouched behind a gravestone on Christmas Eve with her two small daughters, whispering that they were playing hide and seek. They were hiding from their father.
What followed were years of violence, a house fire, homelessness — and a family court system that had a word for mothers who tried to protect their children from dangerous men. They called it implacably hostile.
Four voices tell this story — and each one is for you.
The narrator tells what happened, chapter by chapter. Honest, human, real.
The legal voice explains the family court system in plain English — your rights, what the law says, what has changed. No jargon.
The author speaks in her own words — where she was emotionally at every stage, what she understood, what she didn't, and what she wishes someone had told her at the time.
The fourth voice carries the wisdom — the stages of leaving, the questions women ask, and the answers that only come from having been through it and come out the other side.
Because there is a way out. And there is life after.
This podcast is published in the name of Dawn Austin, a mother imprisoned in 1996 for protecting her child. Her courage protected women she never met. This is one of their stories.
If any part of this is your story — step forwards, not back.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 — free, 24 hours
Implacably Hostile
Latest Episodes
The Release
Episode Eleven: ReleaseLess than one per cent of cases end this way. This was one of them. The final hearing. The judge. The report. Two years of fighting distilled into a single room and a decision that ...
Dr Rob
Episode Ten: Dr RobShe handed her daughters to a stranger and waited. The hardest thing she had ever done. The court has appointed a child psychologist. His name is Dr Robert Radcliffe. He is kind, patien...
In Court- Chapter nine
Episode Nine: In CourtHer friend suggested she hire a male escort to take to court. She did it. Episode Nine is the court hearing everything has been building toward. Vanessa faces the judge, faces Clive ...
