A young Inverness woman is on a mission to let people know that they are not alone when facing domestic abuse.
Elise Bowie (19) is a survivor of domestic abuse after a relationship with an ex-boyfriend.
She is now taking on a challenge to stay sober for 2025 in order to raise funds for Inverness Women’s Aid which helped her after her relationship ended.
She said: “It took me a long time to tell people what was going on in the relationship.
“I wanted to get it across to everyone who is going through it that it is OK to talk about it.
“It happens to a lot of women, it’s not just one person.”
Giving up drinking is something that Elise felt would be a good challenge due to her age, and being in the prime of going out with friends.
She said: “I chose to support Inverness Women’s Aid as I used it a lot and many of my friends have and it’s helped them.
“They give women the feeling of being heard and people they can confide in.
“I wanted to pick something out of my life that would be challenging and it would be hard to do.”
Elise’s relationship ended two years ago and she has since rebuilt her life.
She said: “Working has really helped me and it gave me a distraction.
“I got support from therapists too after going to the police.”
She wants to show that there is help and hope out there, and is hoping to raise £1000.
Elise added: “I want to let everyone know that it’s OK to speak up and to tell your story, and to not be scared or ashamed of anything.
“I’m sure this will not be easy but with your donations and this charity’s work it’s definitely worth it.”
Domestic abuse is an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer. It is very common. In the vast majority of cases it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men.
In 2023/24, Police Scotland recorded 63,867 incidents of domestic abuse. Of those incidents recorded, 81 per cent involved a male perpetrator and female victim, 15 per cent featured a female perpetrator and male victim and three per cent featured same-sex couples.
Where age is known, approximately 35 per cent of all incidents reported featured a male perpetrator under the age of 35.
To support Elise’s fundraiser, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sobriety-2025-for-womens-aid
If you have been impacted by Elise’s story, please contact Inverness Women’s Aid on 01463 220719.