Kate Kniveton recounts emotional and physical trauma during 10-year marriage
A former British Member of Parliament, Kate Kniveton, has come forward with deeply disturbing details of the abuse she endured throughout her decade-long marriage to a fellow politician. The survivor, now 59, has accused her ex-husband, also a former MP, of rape and sustained domestic violence.
In a recent documentary, Kate Kniveton, the wife of former Conservative MP Andrew Griffiths, opened up about the abuse she endured during their marriage. She revealed that Griffiths, now her estranged husband, sexually assaulted her while she was asleep and warned her that no one would believe her if she reported it. Kniveton also recounted how he screamed at their two-week-old baby, leaving her deeply traumatized. The couple separated in 2018.
In a harrowing account, Kniveton described how the abuse often began while she was asleep. “I’d wake up and he would have started having sex with me,” she revealed. “Sometimes I’d just think ‘let it carry on,’ but there would be other times when I would cry. And those times he’d sometimes stop, not all times, but then he’d be in a foul mood if he did.”
She also recalled being physically assaulted, saying, “I remember he’d be kicking me until he kicked me out of bed. And I would go into our spare room and barricade myself in another room for the night or leave the house.”
Turning point after the abuse of the infant daughter
Kate Kniveton recounted a particularly haunting incident involving their two-week-old daughter. When the infant cried for a feed, her ex-husband allegedly screamed at her to “shut the f*** up.” This moment, she said, marked a turning point in her realization of the extent of the abuse.
“People don’t think it can happen to professional middle-class people, but domestic abuse has no boundaries. It can affect absolutely anybody,” she emphasized.
Continued trauma through legal system
The emotional toll did not end with the relationship. According to the former MP, the abuse continued for years through the family court system. “I am traumatized, not just by the 10 years of abuse I experienced, but the following five years where he continued to use the legal system to abuse me,” she said, highlighting the systemic struggles many survivors face in custody and legal proceedings.
Manipulation and abuse of power
She also described how her ex-husband, despite his public charm, used his political position to intimidate and silence her. “Every time I said I was going to go to the police, I am going to report you, he would always say, ‘Nobody would believe you. I am the MP here. I’ve got a great relationship with the police; they all think I’m the blue-eyed boy,’” she recounted.
Court ruling confirms allegations
In December 2021, a family court judge found that the accused had raped and repeatedly assaulted the survivor during their marriage. The case highlights the ongoing challenges faced by survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, especially when the abuser holds a position of influence.
