Spice Girl Mel B has called for reform of the judicial system at the Conservative Party conference, as she shared her personal experiences of domestic abuse.
The pop star, a patron of the Women’s Aid charity, spoke at a fringe event at the conference in Birmingham, calling for more to be done to support survivors of domestic abuse.
She told the event she was “probably the last person you would expect to find at a Tory party conference”.
When these abusers get their hooks into you, there is no way out, really - so you think— Mel B
“I am not here because I am Mel B, Scary Spice from the Spice Girls, I am here because I am Melanie Brown MBE,” she added.
She told the audience in a packed conference room that she was in an abusive relationship for about 10 years, but “kept it a complete secret”.
“I went on tour with the Spice Girls, I was a judge on America’s Got Talent – voted best judge, if you can be voted the best judge on a TV show,” she said.
The Leeds-born singer added: “I put on a smile for the cameras because that is my job and I know I am really good at it as well.”
She said the abuse became worse “bit by bit”, leaving her without access to money or a support network, and gradually leading her to attempt suicide.
“I couldn’t pick up the phone to call my mum, my friends, I didn’t have access to anything, and you think, well, Spice Girls are all about girl power, but let me tell you, when these abusers get their hooks into you, there is no way out, really – so you think,” she said.
It was only after the death of her father that she said she found the strength to leave the relationship, after seven previous attempts.
She called on the Government to do more to raise awareness of the needs of survivors of domestic abuse, including better support through the health service and the court system.
Mel B said: “Every judge I have come across looks in complete horror like, ‘Well, you look put together, you look all right, what is wrong with you?'”
She emphasised that women from all walks of life can experience abuse, no matter how they appear outwardly, telling the event: “Domestic abuse is everywhere in society. You can be from a council estate, which I am, or you can be from a country estate – which I am now.”
Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said the justice system had been the “hardest institution to engage” in the need for reform.
She said: “The stories that you hear of women saying that, actually, that was more traumatic than the abuse itself, that is generally the experience, and that shouldn’t be the experience for the place that is supposed to keep you safe and find justice for you.”
Home Office minister Mims Davies said the Government was trying to encourage a “whole societal attitude to change”, including teaching men and boys to recognise abusive behaviour.
The newly appointed minister told the fringe event: “As the minister for safeguarding, I have got a fairly big inbox and this is absolutely one of the crucial ones.
“Let’s say no to tolerance on this. This is criminality in homes. It is time that we really push on and help women to move forward from this, and there is no opportunity for people to find tolerance at long last.”
