My story
My name is Charlie and Iām the founder of Not Just Mum.
I grew up in a home affected by domestic abuse. I heard and saw things no child should have to experience.
What happened did not end when I left that home. It has shaped my mental health and much of my adult life.
My formative years were spent surviving. Much of my adulthood has been spent trying to recover.
It took me a long time to understand that what I experienced was not normal - and that it was not okay. Like many people who grow up surrounded by abuse, I did not have the words for it as a child. I only began to recognise the full extent of the harm years later.
When I finally looked into my options, I found that the law had largely closed the door. Too much time had passed.
But I still want some form of justice - not only for myself, but for others who have lived through similar experiences. In speaking to other adult survivors, I have heard the same need to be recognised, to be heard and to know that what happened to us mattered.
For me, this campaign is about taking back some of the power I did not have as a child.
We cannot change what happened to us. But we can ask Parliament to make the path to civil justice fairer for those who are ready to seek it.