His honesty gave courage to survivors’: domestic abuse charities praise Patrick Stewart’s legacy

When Patrick Stewart was growing up in the 1940s, he witnessed how, after his father beat his mother, home doctors and ambulance workers would tell her: “You must have done something to provoke him.”

Stewart knew the violence was never warranted, a conviction that became the spark for a lasting commitment to campaigning for greater understanding of domestic abuse.

As news emerged of his death, aged 86, domestic abuse campaigners praised his legacy and said his contributions had helped raise awareness of domestic abuse and its impact on children.