For Charlotte*, Christmas lost its magic in her early twenties. Once a season of joy and security, it became a time marked by isolation, fear, and violence after she moved in with her boyfriend – a man she had fallen for just weeks earlier, charmed by his seemingly kind and charismatic demeanour.
But the charm soon faded. Within months, he controlled every aspect of her life, barring her from seeing friends, limiting the contact she had with her mother, and attaching a price to basic freedoms like going to work.
