That made me sick. Absolutely sick.

Horrifying! She's frozen with fear because of this monster. We would all hope we would be stronger, but this guy is scary. I also feel badly for the children. I suspect the son is pretty much messed up for life.

We need to be aware how common these monsters are. Note, it isn't just women who are victims. An estimated 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men will experience a sexual assault within their lifetime. (Rennison, C., U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2000).

I can't help but notice at the end that someone said "This was such an unusual case."

The fact is that it's only unusual because there was hard and undeniable evidence of what was happening to this poor woman.

If you want to avoid killing yourself, avoid reading the YouTube comments.

Shinobi is right. It isn't an unusual case at all. The video mirrored a lot of things that I witnessed as a kid. No chocking, no tape recording, but the rest was all there at one point or another.

That's the most fucked up thing I've seen in awhile.

And then I read the comments. I shoulda known, YouTube is notorious for horrible comments, but I couldn't see how anybody could possibly say something that would turn my stomach more than the video.

I was wrong. How much of this crap do people have to see/hear/read about before they let go of the notion that gender equality exists and realize that women are not even safe in this society; not on the street, not even in their own homes, and that that is an injustice?

Eh, I know what you're getting at that domestic violence isn't unusual. However having the arrogance and audacity to have one of your kids videotape the abuse, and THEN the abused woman be able to use it during the trial is unusual. Good on the judge for the 36 year sentence. I think a lot of people get hung up on a shadow of a doubt when it comes to crimes behind closed doors, I'm glad the judge went to the fullest extent with such clear and damning evidence.

There's no sense in arguing 'it's not usual if you remove everything unusual about it' to slam a judge that did a good job.

where is this from? I'd like to see the whole thing. (well, not really LIKE to, but you know what I mean.)

that makes me sick. both the verbal and the physical abuse. At least he got what he deserves. Many cases of abuse go on and on for years and no one knows.

What a horrible tape. I can't get over her body language... the way she tries to stay completely still because she knows every transient movement or expression will be used against her. It's a nightmare.

I agree-- her expressionless face will haunt me. It is an absolute nightmare, and one that nobody should ever have to face.

I can't imagine surviving that kind of abuse. That she survived, was able to get away, and is now sharing her story is a testament to amazing strength.

I can't imagine surviving that kind of abuse. That she survived, was able to get away, and is now sharing her story is a testament to amazing strength.

The verbal and mental abuse shown was just horrible... I think it's all too much a reality for some people living their day to day lives. We don't hear about the verbal and mental abuse as much as we should and as much as it probably happens. sad.

I survived the same abuse, but thank goodness I didn't live with the person and no children were involved. It took years for me to get out of the relationship. I would like to say to women in this forum that there are early signs. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE always stay true to yourself and follow your gut. If something doesn't seem right...it's not.

Please, educate yourselves on what the early signs of an abusive relationship are. It's important. None of us ever expect to be in that position. I sure as hell didn't expect to be in it at the age of 16, but I was.

Knowledge is power. Know yourself and know what to look for. It can save you, or help you save a friend.

OK...I've witnessed abuse in person, so I'm not going to watch the video. No need to drudge up bad memories. But it's pretty sick that someone would want their abuse on tape. Obviously, unless it was the victim and s/he was taping it so there'd be evidence.

As a survivor of abuse, and friend of many who have been beaten within inches of their lives, I find it frustrating that the only reason this man was punished so severely is because of the video. Again: the only reason this man was punished so severely, is because of the video.

For the rest of us, our struggles are usually dismissed, disregarded, and disbelieved-- kept silent because 'words and bruises aren't enough'. I can't express how excruciating it is to share a story of abuse, only to have someone say: "It can't have been that bad." Many seem incapable or unwilling to believe the truth, if only because it contradicts their own grasp on reality.

What does this say about our society? That the only way for people to take things seriously--to care--is if it's thrust in their face, poured down their throats, spoon fed in hard doses?

I'm glad her husband sealed his own fate, but I confess my lingering concern lies with the thousands upon thousands of victims who don't have a videotape to speak for them.

c'est la vie,
I agree. Maybe the only reason the judge was so struck by this case was because there was actual video footage of it, while he may not have been struck by other stories of domestic violence (I don't know for sure, just speculating).
Any time I hear stories like this, it makes me more motivated to not allow it to happen to me. As this woman said, she never thought it would happen to her, and no one ever thinks it will be them, so I try to always remember these kinds of stories.

thank you for posting this.

i just started working on call in a domestic violence shelter. i got my first call in the middle of the night last night, and it was my most upsetting call so far. it was saddening to wake up this morning and watch this, after my experience last night, but also empowering to hear and see a survivor speak.

cest.la.vie

I can't express how excruciating it is to share a story of abuse, only to have someone say: "It can't have been that bad."

This looks a lot like what went on in my parents' home. Sadly, there were no video cameras, or domestic violence laws, or women's shelters back then. The RCMP came to the house, broke it up, and left again. My mother never went on to re-marry or even date very much. Her trust in men was totally blown.

I worked in a women's centre for 11 years, and tried to help a lot of women in this situation. More women go through this every day than anyone can imagine. I don't understand why it's STILL so hard to make some people understand how serious it is.

This video isn't even shocking to me. What's shocking is that the guy actually got serious jail time. Most abusers never get any jail time at all.

That's just disgusting. I don't know what else to say.

Maybe girls need to be taught to fight back. It took her husband years to move on to physical abuse. My dad was emotionally abusive to everyone, but whenever he tried to hit my mom or throw her around (she is very small) I'd scream at him and jump on him- and obviously get in trouble, but that was always enough to bring him back down to earth and to the realty that he didn't have absolute control, hopefully, he realized that he shouldn't have had it at all. So, some of that was escaped in my house.

On the other hand, I've known plenty of women (and actually, several men) with continually berating significant others, plenty of missed work, plenty of trips to the hospital and unexplainable injuries. My mother-in-law and my best friend's mother both had their husbands make significant attempts to murder them. (and both because they thought they were cheating)

I don't think I'm abnormally situated. I think this is indicative of society on whole. It happens a whole lot more than most people would ever imagine. It is a good thing to get the information out there.

One always wonders, though, how we can provide justice for victims of domestic abuse, whether it's physical or emotional.

Certainly, we can't be in every home doing everything to say every victim. I can only hope we start healthy relationship classes in high school, where the abuse often begins.

It's been a while since I've seen a video that's brought me to tears.

And to think - this jackass was wearing a cross ...I am no Christian, but I can tell you that his actions aren't very Christ-like.

Sometimes, I think certain men's fate ought to be like that of the pastor in Tennessee, whose wife killed him.

As a victim of domestic violence...(phew, i said it). I empathise with her 100%.

I'm gonna go do something nice now, so the memories fade again. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Violence against women/partners is disgraceful.

Nice cross, dude. Way to keep it real.