'My therapist said I was repeating a pattern'

A relative began controlling Richa Raval's friendships when she was growing up, threatening violence if she disobeyed.

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Richa, now 31, says, "It was my first experience of coercive control. It was extremely traumatic, but I didn't realise the impact until I left."

On moving to the US to study aged 17 she had nightmares, lost her appetite and her weight plummeted to 6st 6lb.

At 21 Richa fell for a man at university. She says, "In the beginning, he seemed very charming. He showered me with affection and attention. But he was also extremely intense and controlling. He wanted to talk constantly. If I didn't reply for an hour he would say, 'I feel disconnection.'"