determined | 

Coercive control survivor Nicola Hanney says she will leave the country to keep child safe

Although he has been stripped of guardianship rights, Moody will be able to apply for supervised visits with his son

Today at 20:18

Coercive control survivor Nicola Hanney has said she will leave the country to keep her child safe.

The Dublin woman, who was subjected to four-year harassment and abuse campaign by former garda Paul Moody, was speaking as it emerged that he could be released from prison as early as next December.

And although he has been stripped of guardianship rights, Moody will be able to apply for supervised visits with his son, according to The Irish Times.

He will then be able to reapply for the restoration of parental rights, although a judge will make that decision.

“He will be determined,” Hanney told the Irish Times. “He will do the supervised access until he gets unsupervised access. Then I’m back in the same position.

“The law in Ireland does not protect me. Because you had intercourse with someone and had a child with them, does that give them the right to destroy the rest of your life?”

“If I have to leave the country to keep my child safe, I will.”

However, she is hoping that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will agree to a meeting where they can discuss proposals to change the law.

“I have not started this for nothing. At the end of the day something has to be done,” she added.

In July last year, Moody was jailed for three years and three months for the coercive control of his seriously-ill partner.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Upfront with Katie Hannon, Nicola said she doesn’t take “a minute” of her life for granted now.

The Dublin hairdresser appeared on the programme alongside her family and friends after featuring in an RTÉ documentary titled Taking Back Control, which detailed how she met Mr Moody on a dating app and fell in love.

The pair then went on to have a child together as his violent and controlling behaviour escalated.

She had been given the all-clear from cancer the year before she met Moody but mid-way through her pregnancy, she discovered a lump on her breast.

Nicola said: “I feel that if I don’t break my silence how can I send a positive message to other people that are living in these situations.

“It’s very difficult to actually believe that was my life at one time but I’m just so glad that I’m one of the survivors because there are so many women out there that haven’t got the same story to tell.”

The mother-of-one said she decided to break her silence in order to encourage other victims to come forward and said there is “no shame in telling the truth”.

“Since this has happened to me, I find other women are coming forward to me already about their friend or somebody that they work with. I feel like there’s a lot of judgement out there, as in I think women should be supporting women and men also,” she said.

“At the end of the day, no one should have to live in these situations. For now, I have the rest of my life to live. My life was horrendous for them years, but now I want to give people a positive message that you do not have to live like this, it’s wrong.

“There are all different forms of abuse. When you’re put in these situations it’s impossible to leave. I found myself going into shock so many times every time these things happened.”

She urged people to look out for any early warning signs within a relationship that may be considered red flags.

“When you go on a date or you meet somebody, listen very clearly to how they speak about their past relationships,” she said.

Nicola said her life is “absolutely fantastic” at the moment. Adding: “I’m with all my lovely family, friends, my beautiful boy and I’m just enjoying every single day.

Nicola said she believes that “a lot of things have to change in this country” and that children have no voice in similar circumstances.

“I’m one of the lucky victims, I’m alive. There are so many people who haven’t survived. Things have to change. We have to be heard, if we want the cycle to change in this country, the law has to change also,” she said.