“If someone has said they are going to kill you, believe them, they will. It might not happen today, it might not even be this year… but it’s on its way.” These are the powerful words of Simonne Butler, host of the series on domestic abuse in New Zealand, Breaking Silence.

Simonne was herself the survivor of a vicious and deadly attack by a former partner. The injuries inflicted left Simonne with years of painful reconstructive surgeries and emotional recovery. Simonne shares her story and insights on how to survive, what she has learnt and in this series, meets other people breaking the silence on domestic abuse.

New Zealand has the highest rate of domestic abuse per capita in the world. Every hour New Zealand police attend 12 domestic violence incidents and almost 60,000 women and children are referred to refuges each year. What’s also shocking is that 80% of domestic abuse incidents are not reported. In this compelling new eight part series for Stuff we open wide the issue of domestic abuse in New Zealand, and it will change the way you think about violence against women.