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
Episodes
11 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 ...
The Push Chapter 8
Episode Eight: The PushShe stood up in front of a judge and told him what was best for her children. She wasn't a lawyer. This was her life. Clive has been released from prison. He is r...
Fighting Fire
Episode Seven: Fighting FireShe had been fighting for herself. Now she was fighting for all of them. Episode Seven takes Vanessa to London, to a park, and to a woman called Dawn Austin— an activist whose ...
Locked Up and Set Free
Episode Six: Locked Up and Set FreeHe went to prison. She was still not free. Clive is in prison. The welfare officer arrives with letters from him for the children. Charlotte tears hers into pieces witho...
Gayle
Episode Five: GayleShe had been fighting alone. Then she met the women who had mapped the system before her. Episode Five is where the story widens. Vanessa meets Gayle — a woman who has been through the ...
The Phoenix
Episode Four: The PhoenixA cat woke her up. A cat saved their lives. In the middle of the night, something woke Vanessa. By the time she understood what was happening, the house was on fire.Episode...
Roses Are Red
She needed to keep the electricity on so the panic alarm would work. So she sold roses. Episode Three is where survival gets practical — and sometimes almost comic. With Clive gone, Vanessa faces homelessness, empty me...
