‘I didn’t recognise the signs’

20-year-old hairdresser Hollie Gazzard was almost at the end of her shift one Tuesday evening in February 2014 when her ex-boyfriend walked into the salon where she worked and stabbed her to death.

Police described the attack by Asher Maslin as a “spiteful and cowardly attack”, carried out by a “self-obsessed individual who couldn’t handle rejection”.

Maslin later admitted murdering Hollie and has now been jailed for life.

Hollie and her father Nick (Photo Gazzard family)

In the aftermath of Hollie’s murder, her father Nick set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust helping young people who may be in abusive relationships.

“We were an incredibly close family but I didn’t really recognise the signs that Hollie was in an abusive relationship and I’m not sure that she realised herself,” said Nick.

“I don’t think she understood the severity of what could happen and, in a month of Sundays, I don’t think she ever would have believed that she would be physically harmed. Had she realised, I think she would have sought help.”

Distraught, but determined to help others in his daughters situation, the former professional Cheltenham Town footballer founded the charity. 

So far the trust has held workshops for more than one thousand secondary school pupils, helping young people understand what an abusive relationship is, recognising if they are in one and where they can go to find help.

The number of young people in abusive relationships is unknown, but the trust says following a survey of Gloucestershire secondary schools 100 young people in Year 11 said they were being abused on a daily basis.

“This may not just be physical attacks”, said Nick. “It could come in the form of  psychological, emotional and financial abuse, but the effect on a young person can be devastating and they often don’t understand what they are getting into especially using social media.”

“10 years ago Snapchat for instance didn’t exist ,but now the pressure on young girls on Snapchat is enormous and they do not understand the consequences of what they are doing. They think it’s there and then it’s gone, but it never goes away and those images can be used against you further down the line.”

The trust is helping to set up schemes outside Gloucestershire and last month a new campaign, designed to raise awareness about how to spot domestic violence and abuse, was launched in Bristol with Nick’s support.

“It’s helped in the sense of it is something positive to focus on. If you sit back and you rely on grief all the time I don’t think you come out of it as quickly,” he said.

“Having something positive to focus on gets us through…and that gives us some sort of solace. While Hollie is no longer here and that’s painful for us, seeing others get something out of this is a comfort.”

For more information and help, visit www.holliegazzard.org or www.thisisnotanexcuse.org