Bekah Smith has shared some advice for other victims of domestic abuse
A mum whose violent ex-partner has been released from prison this week says she is “on edge” now that he is back on the streets. In March last year, Karl Draper was jailed for two years and handed a restraining order banning him from contacting his ex-partner Bekah Smith for five years.
The MMA fighter, who was 23 when he was jailed, strangled Bekah while she was pregnant and kicked their puppy. He subjected her to a campaign of domestic abuse over the course of more than two years, including physical assaults which left her “terrified she was going to lose her baby”. He even told her that she would “end up in the morgue”.
During an argument in April 2022, he threw her onto their bedroom floor. She landed on her side, and her Caesarean scar reopened as a result. In another incident that month, he pushed their baby’s bottle “forcefully” into her face, leaving her with a black eye. By September that year, he had “taken up MMA fighting” and is said to have “kicked her hard in the back” before throwing her onto the bed.
Draper, of Jade Close in Kirkby, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour and five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He left prison yesterday, February 25, after serving around half of his two year sentence.
Criminals who are sentenced to at least two years in prison, but less than four years, will normally serve half their sentence, then be put on licence. Because of his convictions, Draper was reportedly not deemed eligible for the government’s early release scheme.
Bekah, 34, told the ECHO earlier today that she is feeling “understandably on edge” now that Draper has been released and is “scared for the safety of [Draper’s] new partners”. She has successfully campaigned for an exclusion zone be implemented across Knowsley to stop Draper coming into contact with her.
She wanted to speak out to tell victims of domestic violence about exclusion zones, which are used by police to restrict the movements of certain individuals. Exclusion zones are restricted areas that a person on license or under a community order cannot enter. They can be based on where victims live or where the offender has committed crimes.
Bekah said: “A lot of victims don’t know about the exclusion zones you can apply for, or bespoke bail conditions, so I wanted to put awareness out there.” She said Draper is “unpredictable” and she is fearful about coming into contact with him.
Bekah feels his sentence would have been longer if the abuse had happened outside the home. Speaking to the ECHO earlier this month, Bekah said: “If a stranger had attacked me and left me with black eyes, would he have only got 11 months? There’s no way. Because it happened in the home, it’s normalised. The laws in the UK about violence against women are so outdated.”
Since Draper’s conviction, Bekah has become a prominent online advocate for survivors of domestic violence. Using her TikTok account, she draws attention to acts of violence against women and girls, and feels a particular responsibility to speak out given that Knowsley has a well-documented problem with violence against women. In 2023, the Femicide Census identified the borough as being the UK constituency with the highest rate of killed women for the previous 12 month period.
Bekah was deeply moved by the case of Kiena Dawes, who took her own life after suffering years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her partner, Ryan Wellings. Bekah says there are many parallels between their cases, and she recently marched in Kiena’s name on the UK Women’s March in Liverpool city centre. Bekah said: “It’s been really triggering for me knowing that it could have been me and it will be other women.”
Despite her concerns about sentencing for perpetrators of domestic abuse, Bekah strongly encourages women to take the first step out of abusive relationships when they are able and it is safe to do so. “As much as the justice system isn’t perfect, it is improving,” she said. “Victims should come forward. You should speak to the police, or to domestic violence charities if you’re not comfortable. Always plan to leave safely, because when you leave it’s the most high risk time.”
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police told the ECHO earlier this month: “We are currently supporting the victim and working with other agencies including the Probation Service to reassure the victim about the offender’s release.
“Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, and we have specially trained officers who will listen to you and support you with sensitivity and compassion. We have a number of tools at our disposal to prevent domestic abuse, including protective orders and strike days to target perpetrators.
“Last September, we introduced the #TakingAction campaign to build on the work of the last three years to prevent and reduce the violence and abuse women face every day. We work with partners to co-ordinate efforts to prevent violence against women and girls, engage with victim-survivors to better understand their issues and support them.”
A government spokesperson said: “The government is delivering on its unprecedented manifesto commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Over the last six months, we have wasted no time in taking action to better protect victims and pursue perpetrators.
“This includes launching new domestic abuse protection orders, starting the roll-out of domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, strengthening the police response to spiking and stalking, and pioneering a truly cross government approach to tackling these issues. We will not stop until we have a system that protects victims, supports their journey to justice and holds perpetrators to account.”
