Kate tried to remain still as she waited for the decision for the fifth attempt at a protection order from her ex. Her hands trembled as she stared at the judge’s face, searching—praying—for any sign of his understanding.

"I am denying this request," the judge said. But Kate didn’t hear anything after that. A faint mention of “no documented physical assaults this year” floated past her, but the rest disappeared under a heavy, ringing silence. Her world seemed to go blank.

Denied? She thought. How can the court not see the endless ways he has punished me for leaving? The threats against my job. The surveillance. The late-night messages reminding me he can ruin my life whenever he chooses. Why is this "not as bad" as physical violence? I'll gladly go back to that if he will leave my children alone! I’ll gladly go back to that—anything, anything—if it means he’ll stop using the children to hurt me.

The thought wasn’t logical, and somewhere deep inside she knew it. But desperation took over. Her ex had hired a bulldog criminal defense attorney who objected to every motion and took every available legal loophole to overturn this protection order—the only thing that had allowed her to breathe this past year. But Kate had no money for a lawyer to defend herself.

This........

© Psychology Today