Singer, author, TV personality and former Spice Girl Mel B MBE has been interviewed by our HMP Styal team on National Prison Radio, spreading the message that anyone suffering from domestic abuse should reach out and get help.
Mel B shot to fame as ‘Scary Spice’ in 1994, as part of the best selling girl group of all time, the Spice Girls.
30 years later and she’s one of the biggest spokespersons for ending the global epidemic of Domestic Violence and is a Patron for Women’s Aid.
In 2022 she was given an MBE for her services to charitable causes and vulnerable women.
In a special interview to mark International Women’s Day on Saturday 8th March 2025, she talks about her own experiences of being in an abusive relationship, how she got through it, and how her focus is now on helping other survivors.
“It’s important to have a plan” she told the presenting team at HMP Styal. “It’s a life-or-death situation. I say to anyone… wanting to leave an abusive situation… try and plan it, reach out to Women’s Aid or whatever charity is available to you.”
Mel talked about the experience of being in an abusive relationship and told National Prison Radio that people are left with “no self-worth, no self-belief and no self-confidence. It can feel like there’s no way out.”
Over half of all the women in prison report having been victims of domestic violence and for this reason, Mel knows that more support is needed.
She has previously worked with women across the prison estate who have experienced domestic abuse and she agreed to speak to National Prison Radio on International Women’s Day because she wants people who have been through similar experiences to know they are not alone.
Speaking about her previous prison visit, Mel said “I’m a survivor – there were many survivors there too – and we had a bond – we had a connection.”
Mel was joined by Caroline Burnley, a Senior Lecturer in Psychological Therapies and Mental Health at Leeds Beckett University.
Caroline explained how everyone involved in domestic abuse needs support: “When people are trying to be controlling, we need to think about what’s going on for them… that’s the thing about the trauma informed approach; it’s seeing past the behaviour… to prevent it happening in the future.”
When asked about how Mel feels about the term ‘girl-power’ now, she said it still holds a lot of meaning for her.
She described her time in an abusive relationship as feeling ‘girl-powerless’ but she says she’s out the other side and her main focus now is to help other survivors who have been through what she’s been through.
National Prison Radio listeners can hear Mel B’s interview throughout the first week of March on NPR Talk.
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