“I have reclaimed my strength and my voice.”

On the morning of December 18, 2022, I was jolted awake by my now ex-husband, only to find myself being brutally attacked.

I was hit in the head with a phone, my face busted, knocked to the ground, held down by the back of my neck, and told I was going to be killed if I said anything or moved.

I lay there, my mind racing with a single thought. I don’t want to die. The man staring at me was not the man I had married. I knew I had to run.

I broke free and sprinted out the door. I ran up the driveway, down the road, and finally ducked behind a truck. My hands were shaking as I dialed 911.

He was arrested that night, but less than two weeks later, he was released on bond with an ankle monitor. I was granted a temporary Emergency Protective Order (EPO) until our court hearing on January 10, 2023.

On that day, the court issued a three-year no contact Domestic Violence Order (DVO).

The order meant nothing to him. He wasted no time violating it, calling and leaving 23 messages within five days. The ankle monitor offered no real protection–he had already decided he was coming for me.

As a survivor of domestic violence, I continue to endure the ongoing actions of my abuser every day. My ex-husband has violated the protective order against him more than 50 times, yet each offense has been classified as a misdemeanor.

When does it stop?

I reached out to James Tipton, my state representative, and left a voicemail about my situation. He called me the next day…

Mary Ann’s phone call with Representative Tipton would make history. Her story continues here.

This is only part of Mary Ann’s story, in her own words, shared with permission.