Cayley

I thought everything would calm down after I broke up with my partner. But then he started sending horrible messages from fake accounts to me and my friends.

My ex had been violent and abusive. When I ended the relationship, it felt like I could finally breathe again. It meant starting again with my daughters, but I wanted a better life for them and for me.

I got back in touch with my friends, who I had barely seen over the last couple of years, and I started spending a lot more time with my sisters and others in my community.

My ex moved away to another town, and all the messages started coming after that. They were from fake accounts with different names, but I knew it was him. He would send abusive messages at all times of the day and night. I reported the accounts to the social media service and blocked them each time.

Then a few of my friends started getting messages from my ex too. He would rant and rave about me. I found it really distressing that he was sending these messages to people I knew. When one of my workmates told me he had also received awful messages about me, I knew I needed help to deal with this.

My ex was trying to hurt me and damage my reputation at work.

I was terrified that people who didn’t know me well would believe what he was saying was true.

My support worker told me about eSafety. She helped me to gather evidence and make a report. The eSafety team made sure I had support and they notified the social media service about the fake accounts, and they were removed.

I feel much safer now - like I can move on. I always know that I can get in touch with eSafety if it happens again.

_{Note: Cayley’s story combines experiences and emotions of a number of individuals in this situation. Stock photo. Posed by model.}