Alex Scott's devastating childhood admission about mum as they 'lived in fear'
Former England defender Alex Scott has shared her honour to become an ambassador for domestic abuse charity Refuge, to help victims and survivors affected by violence.
Alex, 38, said: "As an ambassador, I want to use my platform and voice to spread awareness of domestic abuse and ensure that women know what support is available to them."
The ex-Lioness first started working with the organisation following the launch of her autobiography, How (Not) To Be Strong, in which she opened up about witnessing abuse as a child.
In her book, Alex described how she would hear her father be violent towards her mother, Carol, while she and her brother, Ronnie, were in bed in their east London flat, admitting she would pray for their safety.
She has become an ambassador for Refuge and donates all her book sales to the charity (Getty Images)
The former England footballer said she would lie in bed at home and 'pray her mum would be alive' (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"All I could do was lie there and pray my mum would be alive in the morning," she wrote. Alex has described her childhood home as a "toxic" environment and has expressed that she wishes she'd spoken out about her traumatic experiences sooner.
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Speaking on Loose Women last month, Alex said: "I wanted to love my dad so much, I was daddy's little girl, but he had this dark side and that's a side we saw a lot of growing up. Drink helped it come out a lot more, you could see him turn, that's how he took it out on all of us, more so my mum.
"From a baby I could feel it, the environment we're in. If you step out of line you know what's going to happen and you don't want that to happen. What my mum would go through, the terror, the helplessness that you can't do anything, you're just living in fear."
Alex's father, Tony, has previously denied the allegations that he was ever violent towards his family, telling MailOnline: "I have no idea why she's saying all this stuff. I was raised in a strict but loving Jamaican family and Alex should know what they are like. I taught her discipline, I did a lot to help her. Perhaps she is judging me by today's standards, I don't know.
"Parents were a lot tougher back then. But I was never violent, that's just not me. I never beat Alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that." But in a recent appearance on Woman's Hour, Alex said: "I almost feel angry at myself that I'm allowing him to hurt me again by those claims of lying."
She continued: "I actually don't care what happened to me. If you are saying being beaten with a belt is just being strict - I can take that, I really don't care about me. What I do care is about my mum and the fear and terror that she had to live in and the fact I was never able to help her in that, but what I can do is help her now by speaking the truth."
In the emotional Radio 4 interview, Alex explained: "It's all still so raw. I can visualise it like it was yesterday. Even when my dad left that environment, we never communicated or you don't speak about it, it's like you try to move on with your life and leave that to the side but it never leaves you. And that pain and the struggles still continue."
As a child, Alex used football as an escape from her violent home life and went on to play for Arsenal, Birmingham City and Boston Breakers. Now, she is passionate about utilising her platform in the public eye to prevent other women from experiencing what her mum went through, and has donated all proceeds of her book sales to Refuge.
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